Bleed Like Me
by Ebony Secrets
Summary: I am not afraid of you. Do your worst, Draco Malfoy, for I await it in divine eagerness.' Strange words to come from the mouth of one such as hers. But those words would spark a series of events that not even those involved could hope to anticipate.
1. Prologue

AN: Pia O'Leary- **Hello all. If you haven't figured it out yet, this is going to be rather dark; there will be no fluffy bunnies and daisies. No flames about that because you can't say we didn't warn you! Very little of this story is planned, so if you'd like to see something, let us know and we'll see what we can do. Please review and let us know how we're doing : )**

Surely not I- _Ditto to any above. Don't read this if you particularly like Harry, because you're not going to like how we portray him. This is short, but future chapters will be longer. Review with any suggestions!_

Two tall, lithe figures slip soundlessly off the grounds of the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first, a man with jet-black hair, yawns as his slightly taller flaxen-haired companion brushes a bit of dust off of his cloak. Then, after a moment, they begin moving again. They slink toward the little cluster of lights that is the village of Hogsmeade. They don't look at each other, but still seem to know exactly where the other is going to move when. They move in unison, a pair of skilled hunters closing in on their prey.

Their prey. It doesn't take them long to find their prey; a group of drunken men – all but two of which were passed out – standing around a bonfire on the outskirts of the village. In an unspoken communication, the darker haired man decides he will take the larger man while his companion will take the other.

They stalk up behind them, making no sound whatsoever, despite the foliage around them. Simultaneously, they move up behind the two men, mouths open. Their long, inhuman fangs glint in the moonlight. Moments later, two pairs of fangs sink into two different necks.

Life-giving blood rushes in. The blood they have been denied for so long. Replenishing their bodies and making their very souls scream in delight. But not enough. Never enough to be had on these late-night excursions. Never able to gorge themselves on the one thing every fiber of their being craves with an insatiable appetite. Only enough to dull the hunger and tide them over until the next hunt.

They lick their lips as the two, unconscious bodies slump to the ground. Much to their chagrin, they weren't out to kill tonight. Simply feed. Too bad.

They smirk at each other for a moment, the blonde flicking his bangs out of his face. With a series of unrecognizable movements, they communicate that, unfortunately, they don't have time to have a bit of fun before returning. They start back towards the school, taking it a little more slowly with a little less spring in their step. Despite the fact that they are a bit tipsy from the alcohol in each man's blood, they still make it back to the school without attracting any attention.

The school is absolutely silent when the return and they, being what they are, do not disturb the silence in the least. They walk right past the old caretaker and his cat, without either having any knowledge of their presence.

They stop just outside the entrance to their common room. "Pansy's going to be awfully angry with us."

"What makes you say that, Draco?"

"Look at the time, Blaise. We're an hour late."

"So we are."

The share a smirk before turning and walking into the Slytherin Common Room.


	2. 1: War is Like Rain

Ginevra Weasley slipped into her usual seat at the Gryffindor table, next to Ron and across from Hermione. 'One more day in the never-ending stream of consciousness,' she thought dryly as she picked at the food on her plate. She made a valiant attempt at paying attention to what they were saying to her, but she hadn't cared for such a long time that she was starting to forget that she was _supposed_ to care.

"Ginny? Hello?'

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione. What did you say?"

"I asked you to pass the pumpkin juice. Is everything all right?"

"Of course it is. Why do you ask?" Her innocent smile was so practiced that she had perfected it and Hermione suspected nothing as she handed her the pitcher of juice.

"You've seemed rather out of sorts this week."

Internally, Ginevra blanched, wracking her brain to figure out what she had done that was out of the ordinary. "I have been feeling a mite under the weather, but I am sure that it's just a cold."

"You ought to go see Madame Pomfrey, Gin. Why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?"

'Ah, Harry. Always has to be the hero. Too bad he doesn't realize that I don't need a hero,' she thought to herself, as she forced an exasperated expression onto her face. "I'm fine, Harry. Pomfrey doesn't need every student bothering her for every little sniffle."

"You should still go."

"If I have time between my classes today, I'll go see Madame Pomfrey, okay, Harry?" Hermione and Harry shot her similar pleased looks, which she returned, grudgingly. Ron had remained silent through their conversation, and gave Ginny a small smile when she glanced his way.

"Miss Weasley, I'm closing the Library in fifteen minutes. You won't make it back to your Common Room before curfew if you don't leave now."

"Oh, I'm sorry Madame Pince. I didn't realize what time it was." Ginevra forced a pleasant smile as she gathered up her books and started out of the Library. She really had no intention of going to bed, but Madame Pomfrey – or anyone for that matter – didn't need to know that.

Ginevra walked quickly, just as she always did, looking for all the world like she was hurrying to get to the Gryffindor Common Room before curfew. But just before she started down the last staircase, she veered sharply to the left, ducking behind a tapestry. Once there, she felt around for the triangular-shaped brick that would open the alcove. It opened and she sat down, pulling out a book to read. The alcove was about 4 feet by 4 feet and was just the right shape – a strange, rounded square – that she could sit comfortably for the few hours she would be there. Every night for nearly five years – since the night after she had gotten out of the Hospital Wing after Harry saved her in the Chamber – she came to the tiny alcove and sat there, until about 1 AM. The last check the teachers and Filch did of the school ended at 12:30. By 1, they were all tucked neatly into their beds. They came out again around 5:30, but Ginevra was always safely tucked into her _own_ bed by 5. So from 9 – curfew – until 1, Ginevra sat in the little alcove and did homework, or read, or whatever struck her fancy. Then, from 1 until 5, she wandered aimlessly around the school. She had the sneaking suspicion that she knew the school better than even Dumbledore, but had no desire to find out. This was, in fact, why she was never late to class – she knew hundreds of secret passageways. You don't grow up with Fred and George Weasley without developing a penchant for trouble yourself.

Ginevra checked her watch – Harry's birthday present for her 15th birthday, because, you know, after knowing her for five years, the best gift he could come up with was a watch – and was disappointed to find that she still had an hour before she could safely start wandering. With a heavy sigh, she pulled out her Potions book and started work on an essay that wasn't due for three more days. There was a reason all the Professors liked her so much, after all.

"Stop pacing! You're so bloody distracting! I should kick you out, you know; let you bother each other instead of me. Salazar knows you two deserve each other!"

"Oh, come on, Pans. Don't get yourself so worked up. You know the reason you're not sending us away is because you love our company." Blaise Zabini grinned that lady-killer grin of his, even though he knew full well that it had absolutely no effect on Pansy – it never had.

"Blaise, you're an idiot. The only reason she keeps us in here is so she can make sure we don't get ourselves into trouble. Isn't that right, _mother_?"

"Draconis Lucius Malfoy," Draco winced, "if you ever call me 'mother' again, I will be forced to castrate you and take no responsibility for my actions," Pansy stated, her eyes never leaving her book. Pansy was curled up in the large armchair in front of the fire, Blaise was sprawled out on the rug in front of her, doing exactly nothing, and Draco was pacing like a caged animal. All three of them had a private room, each branching off of the same, hidden hallway, which led back to the Slytherin Common Room. That particular night, they had all invaded Pansy's room – more or less because Pansy had stopped to get something and Blaise had gotten comfortable on the shag rug.

"Sorry, Pans," he grumbled. "What're you reading, anyways?"

"_The Good Apprentice_. You both ought to read it, it's very good, if not a bit odd."

"Right now, the only thing I want to do is get out of here … stretch my fangs a bit." Pansy just rolled her eyes in response to Draco's statement, but the declaration did earn a chuckle from Blaise, presumably in amusement.

"You'll do no such thing. It's bad enough you were four hours past curfew last time! I don't see what the problem is with the potion. It dulls the hunger. You don't even _need_ to visit Hogsmeade. There's no way in hell I'm letting you go wandering about Hogwarts to feed on some unsuspecting student. Are you trying to get yourselves caught?"

"Because, Pansy dear, while it does dull the hunger, it does nothing for our tempers. You know how we get between feedings." Blaise nudged Pansy's foot when she didn't respond after a few moments. "Pans?"

"I just wish you would take the damn potion. You're going to give yourselves away if you're not careful and that is something we cannot afford."

"Pansy … we're always careful. You know that. What's really bothering you?" Draco had stopped pacing to give Pansy an unreadable look.

"Nothing, just … go, because I know you're going to anyway. We'll talk about this later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Draco. I'm sure. Go on."

"Pans …" Blaise looked decidedly uncomfortable with the situation; Pansy was never one to hide anything from the two of them. And, while Pansy had plenty of experience figuring out exactly what was bothering _them_, they had hardly any.

"Seriously, it's ok. Go terrorize some little first year. You'll feel better." Without saying another word, Pansy put down her book and strode quickly into her bathroom. A few moments later, they heard the shower running.

"Think we should wait?" Blaise shifted nervously on the rug, tugging at a piece of shag.

"What? And have her scream us deaf when she gets back? I don't think so. Let's just do as she asks and we can all deal with this in the morning."

"Checkmate," Ron mumbled; he hadn't really felt like playing chess in the first place, but he felt even less like arguing with anyone. Harry grimaced and stood up, immediately, nearly knocking over the chess set. "Watch out, mate!"

"Calm down, Ron. It's just a chess set," Hermione admonished from her perch on the couch.

Ron growled inaudibly, but said nothing more as he started putting the set away. It wasn't _just _a chess set. It was _his _chess set; it was the first set he'd ever had that wasn't a hand-me-down from Charlie or Percy – or both. Ginny had saved up her money for months in order to buy him the set for his birthday. It was exactly what he had wanted; solid cherry wood, with his name engraved on one edge. Harry and Hermione had wanted to get it for him, but Ginny had made them promise that they would let her buy it. Even though Ron would never admit it to them, it was more meaningful coming from Ginny. While Harry and Hermione would have given him the exact same set, there was something in knowing that Ginny had foregone butterbeer and chocolates at Hogsmeade for months, in addition to working as a guinea pig for the twins. Harry and Hermione never would have done that for him, but then, they didn't have to either. They had galleons to spare.

Ron carefully laid the pieces in the velvet-lined box, which was also engraved, and set the box on the mantle. If he took it upstairs now, the desire to sleep would become too much when he saw his warm, comfy bed. So he simply settled down on the couch, next to Hermione. No one spoke for a long time; Hermione was thoroughly engrossed in a book, Ron was morosely contemplating his lack of fortune, and Harry was staring absentmindedly into the fire.

"When's your detention, Ron?"

Ron, lost in his own world, hadn't heard Harry's words. "Pardon?"

"Your detention, with Snape. When is it?"

"You got a detention! When was this?! What did you do?!"

Ron grimaced at Hermione's amazing ability to destroy the eardrums of her unsuspecting victims. "I hexed Goyle," he stated simply. He had no desire, whatsoever, to discuss anything with them at the moment. So he figured, he might as well get this over with in the easiest, most pain-free way possible; telling the truth. Perhaps it would minimize the time he'd have to listen to Hermione screeching at him.

"What! Why?!"

"Greengrass insulted Ginny."

"What did she say?"

"Doesn't matter. She insulted Ginny and, since Goyle got in the way, the hex hit him instead of Greengrass. I never would really hex a girl; it was just meant to graze her. But Goyle's a good deal bigger than she is." Ron said all of this in a soft monotone, bereft of emotion, as he continued to watch the fire die.

"When was this?"

"After Quidditch. Ginny said she'd left her quill in the Potion's classroom and I said I'd walk with her to get it." Contrary to what Hermione and Harry would think, Ron hadn't offered to walk with her simply because he thought she needed protection from the Slytherins or some such nonsense. Considering all that had happened during the war, he knew that Ginny was quite capable of holding her own, if the need arose. In truth, the reason he had gone to the dungeons with Ginny was simply to talk to her. He knew her excuse about feeling 'under the weather' was bull, just like she knew that his request that she see Madame Pomfrey wasn't a serious one. He wanted to ask her what was really wrong, to see if there was anything he could do to help. But she hadn't told him anything. She had, however, promised that, if he would wait for her in the Common Room that night, they would talk.

"Ronald Weasley! You can't just run around hexing anyone you want! You're going to get us all expelled!"

"Hermione's right, Ron. Dumbledore isn't going to keep putting up with all this hostility. The war's over. Let's just try to live in the peace we all deserve."

Ron ground his teeth; it was just like them to team up against him. Now, if it had been Harry defending Ginny, it would have all been well and fine. But he'd promised Ginny not to fight with them on her behalf, so he withheld his retort. She knew the tension she was causing with the trio as they all pried into her life. Harry and Hermione pushed too hard and only succeeded in pushing her away. Ron, on the other hand, having grown up with Ginny, knew exactly when to push and when to just sit back and leave things be. Ginny could confide in him; Harry and Hermione knew it and it made them furious. Hermione was hurt because she saw herself as the sister Ginny never had. However, Ginny saw her more as the sister she had but never really wanted. Harry, on the other hand, was simply suffering from a wounded ego. The fact that Ginny had moved on from her silly crush had hit him, and hit him hard. Ron was sure that he only thought of Ginny as a sister, of course, but it was Harry Potter. He liked to be liked.

While Ginny didn't particularly care for Ron's two best friends, she still cared about Ron. She didn't want to cause problems between the three of them. Hence her insistence that Ron not fight with them regarding her or her problems.

"My detention's tomorrow night, after dinner."

Hermione continued to babble on, lecturing him on this or that, and Harry continued to agree wholeheartedly with her, even joining in on the little 'lecture Ron fest' from time to time. Meanwhile, Ron was trying to decide if he agreed with the Chudley Canon's manager's decision to trade two of their reserve chasers and their seeker for a better seeker. Neither Harry nor Hermione ever suspected that he wasn't listening and, after an hour or so, both decided it was time to head up to bed. Ron stayed downstairs and settled down on the couch to sleep. He'd promised Ginny he'd wait and she would wake him up when she got there. He only hoped she wasn't too long; Harry and Hermione were started to get suspicious of him staying in the Common Room after they went to bed on more nights than one.

As Ron drifted off to sleep, Ginny's words from a few weeks prior flitted across his consciousness. "War is a lot like rain, Ron. It brings a lot of things, changes a lot of things, washes a lot of things away. And you can't ever really see all that's happened until the clouds have cleared. The war is over; the clouds are going to start clearing."

AN: Surely not I- _Yes, so here's the first chapter, and as promised, longer than the prologue. Credit for most ofthis lovely chaptergoes to Pia!_ Pia- **Meh, more like credit goes to me for being a control freak and taking over this chapter.**You? Controlling? Never: D** LOL! But in all seriousness, we apologize to anyone who actually likes the trio ... we, however, hate them with the fire of 1,000 suns.** _That's putting it mildly._** And kudo points to you if you know what that's from.**

**_R&R and let us know what you thought of this chapter!_**


	3. 2: What is Death?

**Chapter 2**

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the littlest Weasel."

Ginevra turned around slowly, giving off a completely uncaring vibe that neither Draco nor Blaise could hope to ignore. "And what do _you_ want, Malfoy?"

"You're out awfully late. Good little Gryffindors shouldn't wander the halls alone at night," Blaise hissed into her ear, as he circled her.

"Well, if I meet any good little Gryffindors, I'll be sure to let them know."

"You're digging yourself a hole that you won't be able to crawl out of, little weasel."

"And I suppose you know lots of things about holes, being the amazing bouncing ferret, after all." Ginevra started walking down the hallway again, but stopped abruptly when Blaise appeared directly before, seemingly out of nowhere.

"You've got a lot of nerve … for a gryffinwhore."

"You know, as flattered as I am, I really must insist that you get the hell out of my way." This time, when she tried to pass, Blaise and Draco grabbed her arms and threw her up against a wall. Draco leaned down, putting his face inches from hers, as his hands rested on the wall on either side of her head.

"Do you have any idea what we are?" he hissed nastily.

"Arrogant bastards who think they can do anything they want because they've been spoiled all their lives? Regardless of what you may like to think, you're not _that_ difficult to figure out, Malfoy." Ginevra's sneer, admittedly, rivaled any good Slytherin, but Draco was too clouded by rage to notice.

"You snarky little bitch. You don't have any idea what we could do to you. All the horrible ways you could die and how little they'd be able to find. Not enough to even identify your body."

"Death? What is death, but a swift moment of pain? A short passage into eternal contentment and happiness, into a world where life is determined by your own self and not the people who surround you. A blissful eternity in a place where solitude is a necessity and company a rarity. As much as most people fear death, I have come to anticipate it. I play the part that has been assigned to me and wait until I can join the millions of souls who have found quiet respite. I know what you are; I know what you are capable of. But, no, I am not afraid of you. I cannot even bring myself to put on a scared façade in the face of the death you bring. Do your worst, Draco Malfoy. For I await it in divine eagerness." Draco was so shocked at her impassioned speech that his arms went slack and she was able to slip away from him. Without another word, Ginevra Weasley slipped out of the corridor, leaving two stunned vampyres in her wake.

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"Ron … come on, wake up."

"Gin?"

"Yeah, it's me." Ginny's voice sounded sullen and sad, which caused Ron to sit up, rather abruptly. That tone of voice could only mean bad things.

"What's wrong?" Ginny was sitting on the arm of the couch, looking very worn and tired. Ron grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him.

"It's awfully late – or rather early – Ron. You should be in your bed."

"I said I would wait for you, so I did."

Ginny smiled a soft, sad smile, and rested her head against Ron's shoulder. "Thanks … you fought with them, didn't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're acting all guilty."

"No, I didn't fight with them. They lectured me, Harry damn near broke my chess set, Hermione screeched herself hoarse, and I didn't do a bloody thing about it." Ron's hands clenched into fists involuntarily, but Ginny immediately took them in her own and forced them back open.

"Calm down, Ron. It's all for the best, you know. This is all going to pass and ten years down the road, you'll be grateful that you didn't ruin your friendship over something petty." Ron didn't answer, but Ginny knew he understood what she meant, so she simply let him brood over it for a few moments. "C'mon Ron. We both need our sleep." Ginny started to get up.

"You don't sleep anymore, Ginny."

Ron's words stilled her movements; she turned slightly to look at him. "W-what?"

"You barely ever sleep. You don't come back until 5 AM. You used to sleep more; you used to take naps during the day sometimes and you didn't go out on weekends. But after you turned 16, something changed. I've tried not to pry; I've tried to just be there when you needed me. I've tried to do what you wanted me to do. But I can't anymore. I can't look at you one more morning and know that you're thinking about how alone you are. You're not alone, Ginny! You've got me; you'll _always_ have me, I promise."

Ginny took a deep, shaky breath. "Thanks, Ron. That means a lot."

"You're not ready to talk yet, huh?"

"Not really. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Gin. I'll be here when you're ready to talk, ok?"

"I know … thanks, Ron."

"Try and get some sleep ok? I'll make sure Hermione doesn't wake you up too early." Ginny nodded and shot Ron a smile – a real smile – before heading up the stairs to her dormitory. Even she had to admit that it was a relief to know that she had, at least one person that cared.

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"Draco, get your lazy ass out of bed. Crabbe and Goyle will eat all of the food by the time we reach breakfast." Draco grumbled into his pillow and rolled over, turning away from Pansy. "Ah! I don't even know why I try! Blaise, you wake him up if you think this is so god damned funny!" Blaise, who had been standing in the doorway, immediately sobered. "What the hell did you two do last night anyways?"

"Well, you know me and my kinky toys."

"Blaise, if you wanna act like a queer, that's fine, but leave me out of it!" Draco growled from beneath the comforter of his four-poster bed. A moment later he sat up, looking rather disheveled, and sent Blaise a rather intense glare for being half asleep.

"Look at that, Blaise. Record time!"

"Indeed. We're getting better and better at this, Pansy."

Draco looked confused for a moment, before realized he'd been had, at which point he sent them both very dark looks. "I hate you both."

"Nah, you're just sayin' that." Blaise grinned cheekily and flopped down on the leather couch in front of the fireplace.

"But seriously, we're going to miss breakfast if you don't hurry. Go get your ass in the shower, you smell like a wet dog."

"Flattered, I'm sure."

After Draco had disappeared into the adjoining bathroom that he shared with Blaise – Pansy had refused to share a bathroom with two males and had, therefore, received a private one – Pansy turned to Blaise with a calculating expression. "Seriously, what happened last night? He's awfully growly and I was under the impression you had gone out last night to _relieve_ tension, not _increase_ it."

"Well, that was the plan."

"And?"

"And it didn't work out quite as planned."

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll figure it out sooner or later. Just make sure you get to breakfast on time, I've got something to do. I don't fancy dealing with a irritable, _hungry_ Draco all day." Without even waiting for a response, Pansy swept out of the room.

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"I thought you were supposed to add crushed boomslang skin?" Ron muttered, apparently rather confused – not that that was anything unusual.

"No, Ron. You add a square piece of _whole_ boomslang skin after you add one crushed pixy wing," Hermione explained in a slightly exasperated, but still patient tone.

Pansy couldn't take it anymore; one of the best potions to make – on account of how much concentration it took and the sense of accomplishment that came after completing it correctly – and they were completely botching it. She strode over to their table, slamming the book they were using – it was a rather old, useless edition of a potions encyclopedia. "Oh honestly! You're both completely daft! You're supposed to add a _whole_ pixy wing and two whole _newt eyes_ before you add _diced_ boomslang skin! Try not to let this one explode, Weasley!" Pansy picked up the books she had checked out and stomped out of the Library; nothing like a few stupid Gryffindors to ruin your morning. She snarled at a little first year Hufflepuff that passed her on his way into the Library and his scuttled away, frightened. Well, perhaps it wouldn't be an absolutely horrid morning after all.

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"I don't think Professor Binns realizes just how completely mind-numbing his lectures are."

"Either that, or he's just some crazy kind of sadist."

"Blaise … sadism refers to … you know what, never mind." Pansy shook her head and scribbled a note on a spare piece of parchment, floating it over where Draco was sitting on the other side of the room.

Draco was less than surprised when the note dropped onto his desk and he didn't hesitate to open it:

_How did I get stuck sitting next to Blaise?_

Draco quickly scribbled a response:

_You broke my favorite quill, so you bribed me to forgive you._

Pansy chuckled softly as she wrote a reply:

_At least I'm not his partner in Potions._

Draco's rejoinder was a single word:

_Damn_.

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"Why don't you just let me do the potion? You can get the ingredients and stuff," Ron suggested gently. He smiled a half-smile when Neville nodded emphatically and started gathering the ingredients they would need. Ron studied the two pieces of parchment in front of him. On the first, was the list of directions Hermione had told him to use. On the other, was the, significantly different, list that Parkinson had given him. He still wasn't sure which one he was going to use. All of the Gryffindors were using Hermione's list, but then, Parkinson had seemed so sure and genuinely annoyed. He truly didn't believe she was lying when she gave him the directions. Ron picked up Hermione's list, looking it over.

"Weasley! Shouldn't you be working on your potion, instead of staring off into space? Fifteen –" Professor Snape trailed off as he looked at the spare bit of parchment that was lying on the desk – Pansy's directions. He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'very nice', before continuing, "Five points from Gryffindor. Get to work."

Ron looked between the list on the table and the list in his hand several times, before crumpling up Hermione's list and throwing it over his shoulder. Decision made.

Nearly an hour later found the occupants of the potions classroom in several different emotional states. All of the Gryffindors – excluding Ron and Neville – were bemoaning their potions, all of which had turned into a foul-smelling, grey sludge. The Slytherins, on the other hand, found it rather amusing, particularly because the majority of them had come up with the right potion. One pair had a slightly bluish potion – it was supposed to be purple – but none had made the horrible mistake that the Gryffindors had. Ron and Neville were astounded to find that their potion had turned out perfectly right.

"Well, well, well. It seems that you all decided to compare Miss Granger's notes. It's too bad that Miss Granger, for once in her life, was not correct. Twenty points from Gryffindor. But, ah, Mr. Weasley. You seem to have struck upon some sort of dumb luck, as you and Mr. Longbottom have managed to make the correct potion. As for the rest of you, if you did not make the right potion, you will be writing a five-page essay on the uses of and _proper_ method of making this potion. The rest of you have no homework for the night, as a reward for doing the proper research." Snape whirled around and strode back to his desk. He cleared his throat and everyone was jolted out of his or her shock. They immediately began cleaning up their things and Hermione could be heard muttering confusedly to herself the entire time.

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"Parkinson!"

Pansy whirled around at the sound of her name to see Ron Weasley come running down the hallway. She gave him a half-confused, half-annoyed look, but did stop walking in order for him to catch up. "What do you want, Weasel King?" Draco asked irritably.

"I wasn't talking to you, Malfoy," Ron stated simply, before turning to Pansy. "I just wanted to say thanks for, well, you know. It was a nice thing to do." Pansy started to say something, but Ron held up his hand, smirking. "Don't worry. I'm not going to spread any rumors about you turning all nice and Gryffindor-y. But thanks, all the same." Without another word, Ron turned around and walked out of the dungeons. Draco and Blaise shot her confused looks, but she simply chuckled softly and started back towards the Slytherin Common Room.

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**A/N:** **_Hello all!_**

**Pia: I'm rather proud of this chapter. The part that Ginny says at the beginning inspired this entire fic. But I do hope that it didn't creep anyone out ... it was rather dark...**

_Surely not I: Psh, if it did, we warned you to begin with. Notice previous warnings…_

**She does have a point there people. But don't get all depressed; the whole story isn't going to be dark. We promise some fluffy relief.**

_Yes, fluff is good... just hope Pia can keep me from turning the fic into one big feather bed..._

**lol. Don't worry; feather beds make me sneeze ... so if I start sneezing sporadically, we'll know that we've gone to far.**

Trixiechips: **_Thanks a bunch! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_**

**_Ok, so review and let us know what you thought!_ _And all you people who read but didn't review; damn you all to hell! No jk, we love you anyway. lol, just review damnet! We wanna know if we're on the right track, or totally screwing things up._**

**_Until next time,_**

_Surely not I_

**Pia O'Leary**


	4. 3: A Heart Shaped Pillow?

**Chapter 3**

It had been three weeks; three whole weeks and he still couldn't manage to get her words out of his head. It was driving him out of his mind, really, the way she had so calmly stood before him and defied Death. What could have possibly made the youngest Weasley so ... so jaded and refined. For refined really was the only way to describe how she'd looked, just then. Like the most accepting of people, unafraid of any harm to her person. It seemed as though she almost welcomed the respite it could give her. The worst part of the whole thing was the fact that the words seemed to be ingrained in his skull. He could recite everything she had said -- verbatim. The way she'd stared up at him, unafraid, as if in challenge. Few had ever been brave enough to challenge him. Even fewer had walked away. And he had just stood there! He could have done any number of things, but he hadn't. Something about her just made him stop.

Blaise sat next to Draco on his bed, breaking him from his thoughts. "Mate ... I've got a problem." Draco gave Blaise an incredulous look. Despite the fact that they were undeniably close, Blaise could be rather ... thick, at times. "Which goes better with my eyes?" Blaise held up two ties -- one dark blue and one dark purple -- and gave Draco a serious look.

Draco frowned in annoyance at Blaise, ignoring him and going over to stand by the window. Blaise dropped his ties, walking after Draco and putting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It really kills you we didn't kill her right then and there, doesn't it?

"What the hell?" Draco snapped, whirling around and knocking Blaise's arm away in the process.

Blaise stepped back, a smile hovering around his lips. "Oh, so it's something else? Realizing the littlest Weasel isn't so little anymore?" Blaise gestured with his hands to prove his point.

Draco gave him a look of disgust as Blaise wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Is that all you ever think about, Blaise?"

Blaise looked slightly offended and rather confused as he answered, "Of course."

"Ah, Blaise," Pansy said as she entered the room with a yawn. "There's just no talking to Drakey these days." Draco glowered at Pansy, but she ignored it with the ease of practice, going over to sit on the bed next to Blaise.

"You're telling me ... he's wasting all the cold water." Draco growled rather audibly at Blaise's remark, but Blaise just smirked knowingly.

"Cold water?" Pansy queried, putting on her most innocent face.

"Yes, nearly every night. Sometimes twice a night, for the two and a half weeks."

"I see. Wonder who it is that's got our Draco all hot and bothered?"

Draco glowered at them, hesitating only a moment before striding out of the room. If they only knew what -- or rather who -- was bothering him, they wouldn't be so lighthearted about the matter. With a shrug of his shoulders, Blaise continued to fiddle with his ties. Pansy, on the other hand, watched Draco storm out, an amused, knowing little smirk flitting across her features.

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Ron was more and more worried about Ginny every day. She wasn't sleeping or eating much anymore; it was as if she'd begun to retreat somewhere deep within herself where no one else could reach her.

The only thing that helped quell his worry was the late night conversations they often had. She seemed to come back to herself as she and Ron would sit there, in the Gryffindor Common Room, in the early hours. He had taken to waiting for her every night and she had taken to sitting down to talk with him -- about everything and nothing.

But it seems that Ron was the only one expressing any interest in his sister. Harry and Hermione continued to go through life in their current rose glasses view, carefree and worrying about no one but themselves.

'Speak of the devil,' Ron thought ruefully as his two, afore-mentioned friends came walking up to him. Both were wearing cheery grins, which only served to darken Ron's mood further. What ever happened to all of the wonderful people who worried about the well being of everyone but themselves? "Hey," Ron mumbled, trying to force a smile onto his face and only partially succeeding.

"Ron!" Hermione began. Ron inwardly winced, knowing what was coming next. "You should really be working on the essay Snape assigned us, not sitting around daydreaming. Harry and I have finished already, isn't that right?" Hermione gave Harry a sickly smile that caused Ron to go to great lengths to keep the contents of his stomach in place.

"Right!" Harry responded obediently.

'Yes, Hermione. Of course, Hermione. You can't reach the shelf, dear? Let me lie on the ground and you can use me as a stepstool, Hermione,' Ron mimicked inside his head. "I don't have an essay to write. I managed to make the right potion." Ron attempted and failed to keep the pride out of his voice.

Hermione looked rather taken aback and huffed indignantly for several moments before finding her voice. "Well, like Snape said. Dumb luck."

"Yeah, it's just dumb luck, Ron," Harry agreed. "Up for a game of chess?"

'What? After you nearly broke my chess set? I think not!' Ron thought to himself. "Actually, Harry, I've got some other things I need to do." Rising smoothly, Ron went off in search of Ginny. Anything to keep his so-called 'best mates' far, far away.

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It didn't take long for Ron to find Ginny; she was sitting under the large oak tree by the lake. She looked up and smiled a sort of half smile at him as he sat down. "Hey, Gin."

"Hello, Ron. I thought you'd be out with Harry and Hermione today."

Ron snorted, staring at the glassy, calm surface of the lake for a few moments. "Things change, Gin." Turning, he faced her, meeting her gaze dead on. "Maybe not always for the better."

Ginny's gaze softened and she looked, for the first time in a long time, genuinely concerned. "Ron?"

Ron smiled fondly down at his sister. They'd always been close, and even if he had seemed like the domineering older brother, he trusted her judgment and opinions more than his own sometimes. "It's nothing you should worry about. Trust me, any confrontation between Harry, Hermione, and I is long overdue."

"Oh ... I'm so sorry, Ron. I had hoped it would never come to this for the three of you ... but then, all good things have to come to an end, right?" Ron had never seen his sister look so completely and utterly guilty.

"Gin ... this isn't your fault..."

Ginny returned her gaze to the water, and Ron knew she felt as though she were responsible for their issues. Sighing, he put his arm around her in an uncommon display of brotherly affection and they sat like that, just thinking, for so long afterwards, Ginny had to run to get to Potions on time.

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Draco didn't realize he was growling until he heard the low throaty sound, and even then it took a few moments for the fact that it was coming from him to register. He wasn't truly sure why he was growling, but he stopped immediately, nonetheless; he didn't want someone to find him, after all. And, as unlikely as that actually was, he still didn't want to take the chance. He was crouched behind a suit of armor, down in the dungeons; Ginevra had just left the Potions classroom. He was just about to go a little closer to the redheaded Gryffindor when the know-it-all Mudblood came walking up to her.

"Hey, Ginny."

Perhaps it was just Draco's imagination, but it seemed as if Ginevra were rather disheartened by the appearance of her fellow Gryffindor. Nonetheless, she put on a soft smile and responded, "Hullo Hermione."

"I … erm … I wanted to talk to you about Ron."

Draco watched Ginevra shift uncomfortably; she fiddled with her hands and tried to appear nonchalant. Apparently, the little Weasley's soft spot was her brother. 'Interesting,' Draco thought.

"What … what about Ron?"

"He hasn't been eating … well no, he has been eating. But he hasn't been eating like Ron normally eats."

"Okay … I'm not going to force food down his throat, Hermione."

Draco couldn't stop the smirk that wormed its way onto his face.

"Of course not!" Hermione retorted with an exasperated sigh. "I just wanted you to talk to him or try and get him to see Madame Pomfrey. He's more likely to listen to you."

"Sure, whatever. I'll talk to him. I've gotta go." Ginevra whirled around and started walking down the hallway, straight towards him. With his shields firmly in place, she wouldn't be able to see him. But that logical thought didn't seem to still the faeries in his stomach. As she passed, he caught a whiff of her scent; vanilla and soap. It was very feminine, in a way, but there was also something strangely primal about it.

But just as she passed him, she stopped walking abruptly. She turned at looked right at him, almost as if she could see him. 'That's utter nonsense,' Draco told himself. Ginevra continued to look at him for a moment, before smirking and continuing on her way down the corridor. 'Strange, very strange,' was the only thought Draco could muster. But Draco only had a moment to ponder this, before he needed to head off to Transfiguration.

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Ron sauntered into the Transfiguration room after Harry and Hermione, once more deep in thought. He took his usual seat by himself, with Harry and Hermione occupying the seats in front of him. Propping his head on his hand, he waited for class to begin.

The Slytherins strolled in, only seconds before the bell as usual. He watched disinterestedly as Draco sat with Blaise across the aisle from Harry and Hermione, leering at them in the process. He looked up in surprise, though, as Pansy took the seat next to him with an enigmatic smile in his direction. Before he could say anything to her, class began and he turned his attention to McGonagall, who was laying out the lesson for the day on the board. After demonstrating the proper wand motion for their current exercise of turning rocks into pillows, McGonagall sat at her desk, leaving the students to practice upon the rocks that appeared magickally in front of each of them.

Ron watched as Hermione executed the spell and movement perfectly, causing a large, fluffy pillow complete with case to occupy the desk before her. Then she turned and began the tedious process of talking Harry through it. ("No, Harry, if you keep that up, you'll drop your wand!")

Ron smiled to himself, replicating the exact movement and causing his rock to also cease existence in favor of a soft, red accent pillow. Frowning, he furtively moved his wand and its color changed from red to orange. Satisfied, he leaned back to observe everyone else.

Draco and Blaise had already transfigured their rocks, and were now deeply engrossed in tormenting Neville Longbottom, who had only succeeded in sending his rock flying into the back of Dean Thomas' head with an awry wave of his wand. Both Crabbe and Goyle observed their rocks intently, as if staring at them long enough would cause some change. Ron chuckled, then turned his attention to his seatmate.

"Transmogrin!" Pansy pronounced clearly, wiggling her wand. Nothing happened, and she frowned at her rock. "Transmogrin!" she repeated, wiggling her wand again but adding a small swish to the left. Nothing happened again.

Observing her puzzled look, Ron leaned over and whispered lightly, "Try swishing a bit more."

Pansy shot Ron a glance, than repeated the maneuver, following Ron's instruction. When nothing happened again, she looked at Ron a bit helplessly.

Ron looked around carefully to be sure no one was watching, and then moved over to Pansy. "Here," he whispered, covering her wand hand with his own. Her fingers felt delicate inside his, and he could eclipse her whole small hand with his own.

"On the count of three?" She breathed, her warm breath flitting across his cheek.

Ron nodded, trying not to show how she affected him. "One, two, three. Transmogrin!"

This time, Pansy spoke the spell while Ron directed her hand carefully with his own. On a crazy impulse, Ron added another small movement at the end, which he hoped would go unnoticed by Pansy. When he was finished, the rock that had been before them had become a small green, heart-shaped pillow.

Ron blushed to the tips of ears, dropping his hand and moving away so their bodies weren't quite so close. Pansy looked at him in surprise – apparently she had noticed – but then smiled, patting his hand gently before picking up her pillow carefully and turning away.

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"You know, you're going to get yourselves detention with McGonagall if you keep torturing her precious Gryffindors," Pansy quipped, on the way back to the Slytherin common room from Transfiguration. She looked down at the green, heart-shaped pillow in her hands, fighting the small smile that was trying to worm its way onto her lips.

Blaise looked questioningly at the pillow in Pansy's hands. "So, how did spending a period with Weasel King go? And why did you bring your class work with you?"

"Oh, you know," Pansy said loftily. "You can never have too many pillows."

"But I have to give the Weasel one thing. He's a lot more fun than Potter or the Mudblood. The two of them are too noble to actually do anything. Weasley, on the other hand ... he's actually willing to put his muscle where his mouth is from time to time. It's almost ... refreshing, dare I say." Draco smirked thinking of the numerous fistfights he had goaded Weasley into.

"Oh yes, I'll have to remember to thank him for encouraging you and your idiocy."

"Awe, come on, Pansy. You used to love our little spats with the Dream Team."

"Yes, and I also used to fawn over you like some air headed bimbo, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Oh, I dunno. I kind of liked the attention."

"You did not." Blaise rolled his eyes and smacked Draco upside the head.

"Okay, okay, so maybe I didn't. But either way, it was still fun to annoy Nott."

"Too true," Pansy replied with a smile as Blaise shook his head emphatically.

A little while later, Draco found himself listening to Pansy's explanation of the Troll War of 1512 when he suddenly felt an urgent pull at his mind. Something – or someone, as was more likely – was calling to him. "What is that?" He hadn't realized he said it out loud until Blaise and Pansy shot him identical confused looks.

"What is what?" Pansy was more than slightly annoyed at his interruption, particularly because she was only helping them because they had begged her to. While both men were extremely intelligent, they were absolutely horrid in History of Magic. If they even hoped to pass their N.E.W.T.'s, they would need all the help they could get.

"That … pulling …"

"Draco, what _are_ you on about?"

"I've … I've got to go," Draco responded in a far away voice. He didn't hesitate as he turned around and strode out of the room.

Blaise watched him go, surprise and worry crossing his face. Pansy said nothing, staring at the door Draco had just exited through intently. Blaise stood, presumably to follow Draco, but Pansy shot out her arm suddenly. "Wait."

"What? He's obviously gone nutters. We can't just let him wander the halls ..." Blaise trailed off hesitantly, obviously at a loss at what to do.

Pansy leaned back in her chair, drawing the History of Magic to her once again. "He can handle himself, Blaise. You can't be by his side for everything."

Blaise looked at her as if he thought she was as crazy as Draco was acting. "And why the hell not?"

Pansy just returned to their place in the book. "Blaise, Draco can handle himself," she repeated.

"I don't like it, Pans ... something's up."

"Since when is something not up with Draco Malfoy? Just let it be."

Blaise sighed, and resigned himself to Pansy's droning on about trolls and their fighting patterns. Right then, he really felt like the one of the closest people he had was beginning to inexplicably draw away from him. He couldn't explain the feeling and, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't ignore it either. It was just there and he simply did not like it.

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Following the pulling sensation as best he could, Draco soon found himself in one of the more dimly lit hallways of the second floor of Hogwarts. A few yards in front of him stood the Golden Trio and Ginevra, who was looking more than a bit uncomfortable. Draco suspected it had something to do with the fact that Potter had his arm wrapped around her waist. She was keeping as far away from him as possible, without pulling out of his grip. Without thinking about what he was doing, Draco strode right up to the four of them, trademark smirk firmly in place. "Look at this, Potter and his cronies. Out for a little stroll, Pothead?"

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Potter immediately relinquished his hold on Ginevra, pushing her behind him as he drew his wand. She let out an indignant little squeak and was about to push back to where she had been, when her eyes met Draco's. He flicked his eyes down the corridor behind her and realization immediately dawned in her chocolate-colored eyes. She gave him a look that could almost be described as grateful, before quietly slipping away from the trio.

Draco was pleased to note that none of them – except Ron – had realized that she was no longer standing with them. Ron's eyes, when he realized that Ginevra had left, snapped to Draco, who smirked a little wider. Ron smiled a tiny smile, which, in reality, was more like a twitch of the corners of his mouth than a smile.

Draco didn't remember the rest of the little verbal spat they had; his answers were instinctive, as his mind was trying to wrap itself around the mystery that was Ginevra Weasley.

As he sauntered back to the Slytherin Common Room, there was one thought on his mind. One would expect him to be wondering why he'd felt that strange pull, or what it was, in the first place. Or even why he had helped Ginevra, who was supposed to be his sworn enemy. But the single thought that plagued him into the night was none of these. For Draco Malfoy, the most puzzling thought was _why_ he had felt an intense pang of jealousy when he saw Potter's arm wrapped around her waist.

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_**A/N: Hello all!**_

_Jess - Well, this is the first chapter we tried a new style of writing, and I must say, it was a lot of fun to write_

**Pia - Indeed, it was. I hope you all liked it, but even if you didn't, it's too fun not to continue in this fashion.**

_Yes, I must agree, so if you don't like it, our deepest apologies, but too bad. :)_

**LOL. Still, we hope you enjoyed this chapter. Everything** – **including Draco's weird feelings and cold showers** – **will** **be explained soon.**

_And perhaps more will happen with Ron and Pansy?_

**Perhaps. Regardless, please review!**

Starriecat: _Yes, cuz we just love Draco, right?_** LOL. Our beautiful little Slytherin Prince. But no, not the good guys, definitely the bad guys. It all depends on your perception of good and evil, or lack thereof in our case. **_LOL if you can call them bad, we know you still LOVE to hate them._

BlueBerriRain: ** LOL! It's great to see a reviewer with a sense of humor! I'm never sure just how weird I can be, without scaring people off.** _As I know all too well... just kidding! It is good to know people don't take my sarcasm to heart_. **Oh! Wounded, am I! LOLOh! Wounded, am I! LOL **_A flair for the dramatic, that's our Pia! And I shall do everything in my power to not let the story reach featherbed proportions! Pia would kill me, anyway. _**Well, no, I'd sic my hellhound Brutus on you ... But yes, kudo points to you for recognizing the song. The story is named after the Garbage Song. **_It's my turn to be deeply hurt... _**No, no; I only sic Brutus on the coolest of people:-)**

Dark Rose: _Well, according to Pia, and my greater sense of good (bad?), I couldn't make the fic fluffy if I actually wanted to. I am, however, going to be extremely generous and allow my dear, dear Pia to keep the chickuffin. Awe, aren't I sweet?_ **Ya, sweet. The damn thing just ripped up my birthday present from Satan. A handbook on the best ways to ensare mortal souls. Damnet. **_Well, I have no idea what Pia is talking about, but that's rather usual, so... _**Ah, well, you're used to my odd ramblings by now, so ... But yes, Ron is NOT a ninny! He's going to get progressively cooler as the chapters go on. :-) **_Well, kinky things aside, Ron is fun anyway. Can't say I've ever had donkey, however. _**Thanks for reviewing, lovey, even though I did make you do it. Hehe, I'm evil like that.**

S: **Well ... I do want to stress something in regard to Ginny's speech. She's not okay with death because she's spiritually enlightened or anything. She's simply ... rather suicidal because she despises her life SO much.**_ Indeed. Although I will ask why one would be afraid of something they've never done, that's not how Ginny is. She welcomes the idea of respite, not death itself._** We're certainly not trying to frighten you, but you will need to understand Ginny's state of mind as the fic continues. **_It's actually a darker concept to establish, but it is necessary. We hope this helps you out, and please enjoy the rest!_

_**Thanks all! Enjoy!**_

_**Oh, and Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, belongs to JK. Anything new, comes straight from our demented little minds:)**_


	5. 4: Best Seeker Ever!

**Chapter 4**

Draco stared down at his food, a rather disgusted look on his face. "Yes, yes, we know, Draco. These stupid house elves' culinary skills pale in comparison to yours. We hear about it every day," Pansy stated calmly before Draco could make a snide remark about the food.

Blaise picked up a forkful of distressed-looking eggs, regarding it with distaste. "Actually, Pans, I think even you might be a culinary delight compared to this."

"I suppose I'm to be flattered by that?" Blaise smirked. "Oh, Mister Zabini, I don't know how I'll ever manage to keep from begging you to ravage me, right here in the hall."

Blaise leaned in, putting his hand on Pansy's shoulder, and then deliberately sliding it lower. "We don't want to make a scene in front of the little Gryffs, now would we?" He just barely managed to get his hand back before Pansy swiped at it with her knife. The Slytherins didn't even notice; this was normal behavior for Pansy and Blaise, anyways.

Draco chuckled slightly, rolling his eyes at their antics. As much as it annoyed him at times, he had to admit that it was nice to know that some things remained the same no matter what. His eyes shifted back to his plate of food, if you could even call it that, and he promptly threw down his fork.

Owl post arrived at Hogwarts at the same time it did everyday, interrupting the meals of all involved. Draco was mildly surprised to see and owl brandishing parchment land directly in his plate of food, narrowly missing his fork. It didn't hesitate to leave as soon as he had retrieved the parchment from its leg, giving its landing spot of forgotten breakfast a look of disdain as it flew away. "Smart owl," Draco muttered as he opened his letter.

'Thanks.' That was it, just the one word. Draco looked at it for a moment, perplexed, but knowing exactly whom it was from.

Blaise looked over his shoulder. "'Thanks?' What have you done that requires a thank you? Your death, maybe. Pain, definitely. But not thanks." Draco sent Blaise a brief glare before started to scan the Gryffindor table for … her.

She was seated next to her brother, facing Draco, while the other two thirds of the Dream Team were across from her, their backs to the Slytherin table. She was pushing her food around her plate and looked up almost immediately when he looked at her. She raised a single eyebrow in question and Draco moved the parchment in his hand ever so slightly. Her eyes flicked to it momentarily before meeting his gaze once again. Draco inclined his head and she responded with a small smirk, before turning to her brother, who was saying something about the copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand.

"Sorry, Ron. What were you saying?"

Ron gave her a confused look for a moment, before shaking his head and handing her the Daily Prophet. "There's something about Percy in here, I thought you might want to read it."

"Oh, thanks." Ginevra looked down at the newspaper that Ron had given her; she didn't really care to read the article about Percy. Unlike the rest of the family, she had kept up with him and they sent owls back and forth almost weekly. But none of the other Weasleys knew that, of course. Ginevra was about to quickly scan the newspaper, trying to look like she was attentively reading when an interesting article caught her attention. 'Vampyres Return!' by Rita Skeeter. "Ron, look at this." Ron grunted in response as he polished off the last of his juice, before turning his attention to his sister. "The evidence of vampyres has been sighted recently in Hogsmeade," Ginevra read. "Ron, it says here that they are some of the most dangerous creatures threatening wizards today."

"Let me see that," Ron made a half-hearted grab for the newspaper, obviously not being a morning person. He must have misunderstood Ginevra's interested look as fear, because he continued, "Gin, there's a list right next to it of ways to protect yourself. Just follow those." She didn't look all that convinced, so Ron proceeded to read off the list. "It says that garlic repels them, but doesn't actually hurt them. Holy water will burn them, but only if you, yourself believe in whatever god it was blessed in the name of. Crucifixes and other religious symbols are more of an annoyance than anything and won't actually harm them."

"But what will kill them?" Ginevra asked suddenly, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"A stake through the heart, being thrown into a fire … oh and decapitation, but that last one works best if you burn the head."

"Ronald, why in the world are you talking about decapitation at the table!" Hermione shrieked, looking thoroughly scandalized.

"Just for you, dear," Ron muttered under his breath, causing both he and Ginevra to laugh. But after receiving another glare from Hermione, Ron cleared his throat and muttered, "Sorry, Hermy." This, however, only earned him another, even fiercer glare.

… … …

Pansy walked down to the quidditch pitch, taking care to make sure no one saw her leave the castle. 'You're only doing this to see Weasley', a nasty voice told her in the back of her mind. 'Yes, the younger Weasley', she defended, ducking down from a distance so she could see the pitch, but no one could see her. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw, and half the student body was out here watching the game. It was safe to say that no Slytherins would be here, so Pansy didn't have to worry about running into anyone from her house. Students from the other houses, on the other hand, were a different dilemma. Rumors would fly if anyone spotted her there, so she had been careful to dress in non-descript robes, which were sans Slytherin Crest. She had also pulled her hood up, in supposed defense against the cold breeze.

Pansy leaned against a nearby tree, watching the players zoom around the field. They were almost indiscernible in the team colors, tinted blurs moving in patterns and dodging Bludgers. However, she caught a flash of unmistakable red hair on two of the Gryffindor players. Watching, she saw the Gryffindor keeper- Ron, she guessed- block the quaffle from going through several times. He would always throw the recovered ball to Ginevra, who made play after spectacular play, scoring many of the points for her house. Pansy watched in admiration as the Gryffindor's score climbed higher and higher, until they had overtaken Ravenclaw and had a commanding lead. By her count, not even catching the snitch could win Ravenclaw the game now.

Suddenly, one of the players who was circling the field nose-dived, narrowly missing Ginevra in the process. The announcer's voice drifted to Pansy and she made out the words Potter and Snitch before cheers erupted in the stadium. Pansy thought she saw Ron and Ginevra share a prolonged look, but she couldn't be sure. In reality, Ron and Ginevra were sharing a look, and a rather annoyed look at that.

Ginevra hurried in the locker rooms, a red haze of anger blinding her, making her fumble with the clasps on her robe. "The nerve! The very nerve of them, to carry him off like he's some kind of hero. He could have fallen off his bloody broom and we still would have won the damned game," she muttered to herself as she wrenched off the rest of her uniform and made for the showers. Still fuming, she stormed out of the room, after finishing her shower, nearly running into Ron, who was waiting by the door.

"Hey, sis," he said wryly. "Great game."

"Oh yes, and I'm just overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of support we've been shown by our housemates, aren't you?" To say that Ginevra sounded bitter would be to say that Hagrid was a tad larger than the average wizard.

"Ah, Gin," Ron said, slinging an arm around her shoulders and turning to the castle. "Someday, they'll realize he's human, just like everyone else."

Ginevra chuckled softly, her mood improving greatly as she and Ron headed back towards the castle. "Oh and won't Hermione just be horrified to discover that her knight in shining armor is really just a stable boy with a piece of tinfoil." Ron let out a bark of laughter.

As they walked back to the castle, separate from the group of Potter-worshippers, Ron could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure watching them from the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, but when he looked again, no one was there.

… … …

Ron came down from putting his broom away in the boys' dormitories and stopped dead at the sight before him. In front him, most of Gryffindor, first years included, were celebrating 'Harry Potter, Best Seeker Ever!' Ginny was looking oddly perturbed, and Ron hurried over to her. "I can't believe they did this," he seethed.

"I know," Ginny said smoothly. "I mean, 'Best Seeker Ever'? That's horribly unoriginal."

"Did they even watch the bloody game!" Ron whispered harshly. It was hardly necessary to whisper, however: everyone was too wrapped up in Harry to notice anything else. Ron noted with a grimace that Harry was sitting on the couch, Hermione practically on his lap, talking to Dean. They were recounting the game ... well, their version of the game anyways.

"'Oh, Harry, I'm sure we would have been lost without you,'" Ginevra mimicked, her mocking tone having a disturbing resemblance to the actual conversation.

"We would have lost that game, for sure, Harry," Ron quipped with a smirk. Ginevra looked over at him, more than a little surprised that her brother had the capacity to smirk. And a very Slytherin-like smirk it was. This year was certainly full of surprises.

"Ron," she began, knowing that she was about to do something she might well regret later. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Where?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"To where I go every night," Ginevra said with a smile.

"You'd ... you'd really let me come with you?"

Ginevra thought she saw a smile behind the confused look as she responded, "Yes ... you've managed to pull your head out of your ass this year, Ron. I'm not sure how you did it, but now that you have, I'd like to continue where we left off." Ron grinned at Ginevra before sweeping her into a bone-crushing hug. The two of them carefully snuck out of the room, though there was little need to be cautious. Colin had begun taking pictures of Harry and anyone who wanted to pose with him. Fred and George Weasley themselves couldn't distract this current crowd.

… … …

"C'mon mate, I wanna ... prowl." Blaise smirked evilly, rubbing his hands together; one could say he looked almost comical, if it weren't for the dangerous gleam in his eye.

Draco sighed, trying to decide if it was worth it to stay and work on his homework.

"Alright, let's go. It's been a while since we were out last."

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere. You're most certainly not going down to Hogsmeade and I don't trust either of you not to prey on some little first year that got themselves lost." Pansy was still seated on the chaise lounge in her room, writing an essay that Professor Sprout had assigned as extra credit. Pansy stood, stretching languidly. "If you're going anywhere, I'm going with you," she informed them.

Blaise looked to Draco for support, but upon observing how little help he appeared he was going to be, groaned. "Fine, Pans."

Pansy smiled cheerily - or as cheerily as Pansy could smile. "I knew you'd see reason. Let me get my cloak."

"Yeah, reason," Blaise grumbled.

"Ah, don't whine. It's so unbecoming," Pansy scolded from where she had her head stuck in her wardrobe. She emerged a moment later, with a hooded, full-length, black cloak in hand.

"Alright, let's go." Both Blaise and Pansy stood to go, and had gotten almost to the door before they realized Draco wasn't with them. "Oh, for the love of Hera! Draco! Draco Malfoy!"

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say Blaise?"

Blaise groaned and buried his face in his hands. "My best mate has gone nutters."

Pansy rolled her eyes and turned to Draco. "We're leaving now, Draco. You are coming along, aren't you?"

"Yeah...why wouldn't I?" Draco asked slowly.

Blaise gave a dramatic wail of anguish, and Pansy rolled her eyes. "Just come on."

The three walked down the hallway, not bothering to keep their voices down. Enough sounds were coming from Gryffindor Tower to mask any other noise. As they walked, Draco stopped suddenly, looking around wildly. "What's wrong, mate?" Blaise asked worriedly. Draco didn't even acknowledge the fact that Blaise had spoken, instead his eyes snapped to the two Gryffindors that were emerging from behind a nearby tapestry. Blaise thought for a moment that Draco had known they were there before they'd come out, but then quickly dismissed the thought as utter nonsense.

"That place is a bit cramped, don't you think, Gin?" Ron rolled his neck and grimaced as it popped. Blaise and Pansy grasped Draco around the waist and hauled him into a corner, well out of sight of the two Weasley siblings. Draco was struggling, half-heartedly, as if he wanted to walk towards Ginevra and Ron. But regardless, he couldn't have gotten out of Blaise's hold if he'd been trying. At least, not in his barely there state of mind, anyways.

"Well, it's not really meant for two people, Ron. It's perfect when it's just me because my legs aren't nearly as long as yours. Oh, and don't worry about whispering. Everyone's asleep by now, including Filch and that horrid cat."

"Are you sure?" Ron didn't look very convinced at all.

"Have I ever gotten caught?"

"Well … no…"

"See? Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay. I guess that stupid party's still going on. They just can't stop celebrating their hero."

Ginevra sighed heavily. "I really don't know what's gotten into him. He used to be so humble … must be everything that happened in the war."

"No, it was before that. He was always acting like he'd saved the bloody world, when it was nothing. I mean, don't get me wrong, some bad shit happened during the war. But he blew it all way out of proportion."

"Well, to anyone on the outside, you were sitting at home knitting socks while Harry was out fighting evil. And I was sending him letters, my entire existence hanging on the moment he came home."

"That's definitely the way he portrayed it, anyways."

"Damn … and can you believe I was infatuated with him?"

"Everyone is. You and I seem to be the only people that actually figured things out, though. Well, us and Professor Snape, that is."

Ginevra and Ron laughed for a few moments, before she regained her composure enough to quip, "If that isn't irony, then I don't know what is."

Ginevra and Ron continued to talk amiably as they wandered down the corridor, away from the Gryffindor Tower. Moments later, their voices died down and Draco seemed to come out of his trance, slightly.

"She was …"

"What was Ron doing with Ginevra?" Pansy asked, half out loud, half to herself. Blaise looked between his two friends, confused by their absurd behavior, and rather annoyed that his plans for a nice romp about the grounds had just been squashed. After all, it wasn't going to be much fun if both of his companions were lost in thought.

With a heavy sigh, Blaise turned and trudged back towards the Slytherin Common Room. It took a few moments, but Pansy and Draco eventually realized that he was gone and started after him.

A/N: _Jess: Before we continue to any comments about this chapter, we'd like to make one thing clear: we started this pre-HPB, and therefore it is going to stay that way. So, with that in mind, do not leave us a review informing us that our characterizations are wrong, or people don't look the way we wrote them._** Pia: No, we're going to pick and choose our way through canon. Regardless, this chapter was a bit slow, we're aware of that. It was a transition chapter ... hey, what can you do?**_ Quite so, quite so. Just wait til next chapter, we'll get right back into things, promise._** Oh, speaking of; the next chapter has an extreme fluff warning, so beware of that.**_** Thanks for reading! Please review, and we'll see you in the next chapter!**_

Alexandria J. Malfoy: **Much thanks! **_Quite kind, quite kind._

babi-gurl8907: _Well, thank you very much, and as a matter of fact, we are already working ahead._** Indeed. We'll try and post at least once a week. Thanks!**

Babykelyse: **Yay! We've converted another to our Ron/Pansy ways!**_ Anything to save you from the dreaded Pothead route..._

BlueBerriRain: **We're still very flattered! **_ It's really actually surprising you figured out the name... You might be the only one! **Thanks!**_

Ducktapefixeseverything: _Oh, please don't get sad! We'll try to update once a week!_** Indeed! Thanks a bunch!**

IssaLee: **I'm glad your computer finally let you review! Jess can sympathize with your computer problems. **_Sweet hell, yes. I feel sorry for those everywhere stuck with computer demons. _**It's going to get much more ... complicated, shall we say? **_And that may be putting it a bit lightly. Anything you don't understand will become clearer in further chapters, however. **Thanks! Keep reading!**_

The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity: **My Goat! Yes, it was a tish bit fluffy, but we're keeping it under control, I assure you. **_Congratulations for mastering the sign in! And I take blame for any sweetness, though I must wonder about the kinkiness of heart shaped pillows..._ **LOL No, no, Draco's not going to do the cold shower thing for much longer, trust me!** _And about Harry and Hermione... well, they probably have random "we're better than EVERYONE sex"._** Yes, yes, definitely. Thanks for reviewing, Goat!**

Skeleton-n-the-closet: _Well, grammar has always been an issue with us, and the same with correct names. We'd hate to be hypocritical, now wouldn't we? _** No, no. No hypocrisy for us. **_Definitely not. That said... Definitely not. That said... _**I wouldn't like to put Jess down anymore than she already is, because I already knew I was an incredible author. **_ What? No, no, you're mistaken... I'm sure she meant me... _**Probably not.**_ Probably...er, yes! Well, anywho... **Either way, we're highly flattered! At this point, we're going to leave it to you to decide if we're actually two people or one VERY schizophrenic author.**_

storylover03: **Ah, interesting conclusion. But no, we can safely say that Ginevra is not a vampyre. **_And thank you very much! Hopefully this was a quick enough update for you!_


	6. 5: What Have We Done?

**Chapter 5**

"This is a large part of your grade, so I expect you all to do your best work!" Professor Flitwick squeaked the following morning in N.E.W.T. level Charms, nearly falling off the precarious stack of books he was standing on. The students started jostling around; trying to find partners, before Flitwick's overly high voice interrupted them. "I will be assigning partners. There is no disputing your assignment." After waiting for the customary groan of disapproval from the class, Flitwick started reading from the parchment in his hands, "Malfoy and Zabini will be working on the disillusionment charm." Blaise and Draco shared a pleased smirk; they'd mastered disillusionment charms when they had become vampyres. This was going to be a piece of cake. "Potter and Granger; the Patronus Charm." Harry smiled his hero-smile, evidently, quite pleased with his assignment, as well he should be. "Brown and Patil; Memory charms." Lavendar and Parvati sighed heavily. "Nott and Thomas; Defensive Charms." Theodore and Dean both grimaced. Ron looked over at Pansy; the only remaining unassigned person in the room beside himself. She suddenly became extremely interested in the top of her desk. Ron blushed to the tips of his ears, as Flitwick concluded, "Finally, Parkinson and Weasley will be working on the Fidelus Charm. You can get started immediately," Professor Flitwick called to the class.

Ron turned to Pansy with trepidation, but was mildly relieved to see her encouraging smile. "Trust me," she whispered. "I'd rather do this project with you than with Harry the hero."

"Same here," Ron mumbled with a sour expression, causing Pansy to give him an unreadable look. "Er ... I mean ... "

"Don't worry about it," Pansy said knowingly. "Let's just get started, shall we?"

… … …

"Merlin! I've never done so much bloody research in my entire life! I think we've got the names of every single person ever put under the Fidelus Charm, not to mention everything else." They had been researching every day after dinner and even between classes for four days now; Ron was, understandably, going a bit stir crazy.

Pansy chuckled softly. "Ron, keep your voice down in the Library. Pince will throw us out and then all of this research will have been for naught."

Ron rudely gestured in the direction of the uptight librarian's desk. "Ah, never mind her. Anyway, now that we're done with the research, it shouldn't take too long to write the paper."

"Yes, you're right ... but yelling in the Library and then flipping off the librarian ... what would Granger say?" Pansy looked up from her notes after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Ron had gone completely stiff and the muscle in his jaw was ticking. Pansy immediately sensed that her earlier words had been a mistake. 'Oh well', she thought. 'Too late to take them back now.' Pansy reached over to Ron and put her hand on his forearm in a way she hoped he would find comforting. "Ron, what's wrong?"

Ron opened and shut his mouth several times and seemed to be trying to get his temper under control. He was turning the trademark Weasley red and Pansy was starting to get worried. "I'm sorry," he finally managed to choke out.

"Don't apologize, Ron. I shouldn't have said ... I just thought that you'd take it ... as a joke ... that's how I meant it..." Pansy bit her lip and looked away, suddenly very self-conscious. Ron placed his hand on top of Pansy's and squeezed slightly, which caused Pansy to blush, ever so slightly.

"It's not your fault," Ron said softly, Pansy's apparent discomfort helping him to control his anger. For whatever reason, he didn't like to see her distressed. "I haven't been getting along very well with Hermione recently, or Harry for that matter."

Pansy looked at him curiously. "Can I ask why?"

"I ... It's hard to explain really ... Harry's ... He's not the person I thought he was. He used to be noble and humble and would have done anything to help other people, even if it cost him his life. He didn't care; he always said that he didn't want his parents to have died in vain. He wanted to do something to make them proud. But I guess he figured they were proud enough and he ... He let his ego get so big that it obscures everything and anything else. He revels in the attention and he doesn't even care about people who used to be his friends anymore.

"Hermione is just like she used to be, bossy, but now she's just like everyone else, too. She fawns over Harry, acting like he's the greatest thing since Merlin and inflates his ego every chance she gets. She's just like any other girl, I think; just wants to get into Harry's pants. Which, come to think of it, is probably all he wants with her too... Sometimes I feel like the whole lot of them would follow Harry to hell and back, and when they figure out he's no different than they are, they'll be completely lost.

"If it were just them acting indifferent to me, I wouldn't care. I've got more important things to worry about than some starry-eyed little girl and her stable boy." Pansy gave him a thoroughly confused look, but Ron dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Never mind. Like I said, I don't really care how they treat me because it doesn't matter to me anymore ... but Gin..." Ron trailed off, his voice dropping to an almost inaudible level, as he looked away.

Pansy, who was not sure she had heard correctly, asked, "Your sister, Ginevra?"

Ron looked Pansy in the eyes, and, much to his surprise or happiness - he couldn't figure out which - he saw worry there. "Yes, they treat her terribly. They disregard everything she says and does as just the ramblings of a little girl... I'm actually very worried about her; she hasn't been acting like herself lately, though sometimes I wonder if anyone besides her knows who that is anymore."

"Oh Ron ... I'm..." Pansy was at a loss for what to say; she didn't want the words to end up coming out sounding forced and stupid. "I wish Ginevra didn't have to go through that ... she's been through enough, I think."

"You know what," Ron said softly. "I think so too." Pansy smiled sadly at Ron; she could see he was very distraught and she felt helpless. Draco and Blaise were never like this... They translated any sadness into anger and spared her the problem of comforting them. But as she looked into Ron's eyes, she didn't think he was a problem, she just wanted to erase the look of pain on his face. Before she fully understood what she was doing, she was leaning closer to him, closing her eyes. "Pansy," she heard him whisper, and felt his hand in her hair. Her name sounded like a prayer coming from his lips. She could feel his warm breath mingling with her own, and-

"PANSY!"

"RON!"

Pansy and Ron sprang apart and stood up, only to find Blaise, Draco, and Hermione storming towards them, each one looking more murderous than the next. It didn't take long for them to cross the relatively short distance and Pansy and Ron soon found themselves being accosted by several loud, angry voices.

"Ron! What would Harry say if he saw you fraternizing with the enemy! You're ruining his image!" Ron scowled at Hermione, and Pansy smirked in sympathy, reaching for Ron's hand instinctively. This was, however, a huge mistake.

"Pansy!" Blaise roared, motioning to her hand, now intertwined with Ron's. Pansy was about to ask what the hell Blaise's problem was, when he beat her to the punch. "What are you doing! Don't you realize that he's a Gryffindor! And a Weasley no less! What the hell were you thinking!" Draco wasn't doing much talking, but he was glaring pointedly at Ron and Pansy's hands.

Hermione turned to Ron tearfully. "How could you do this?"

Ron looked at her confusedly. "I don't understand how this involves you!"

Hermione stamped her foot petulantly. "I thought you liked me! You're not supposed to go flirting shamelessly with other girls, even if they are Slytherins and leading them on like that!"

Pansy, seeing Ron's face go red for the second time in as many minutes, tried to calm Hermione and Blaise before Ron induced an aneurysm, but found it difficult with Ron's tongue down her throat. Pansy looked shocked for a moment, but it barely lasted before she twined her arms around his neck and returned his fierce kiss. Hermione watched helplessly as Ron and Pansy continued to snog. She huffed indignantly and stamped her foot several times trying to get someone to focus on her, but to no avail. Blaise and Draco, on the other hand, just stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

After several moments of feeling hopelessly neglected – as she didn't like to be out of the limelight for very long – Hermione turned and started to stomp out of the Library. When Hermione walked out, she had 'accidentally' knocked into the still-snogging Ron and Pansy. This caused Ron to overbalance and fall into a nearby chair, pulling Pansy down with him until she was straddling his lap. Pansy giggled into his mouth, and their kissing continued, much to Hermione's displeasure. She stopped at the door, throwing an icy glare at the four people still in the room. "Harry is _not_ going to like this, Ronald." When no one even spared her a glance, she huffed again and stormed out of the Library, slamming the door hard behind her.

Draco looked over at Blaise, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable with the entire situation. "Erm ... did she just ... giggle?"

Blaise turned an unbecoming shade of green. "Yes," he croaked. "I believe she did. So…er… Fancy a game of chess before we go to class?" Draco nodded jerkily and the two shaken men made their way out of the Library as quickly as they could without actually running.

Pansy looked up after a few minutes, only to have Ron pull her gently back down. "Mmphf," she protested, pushing at his chest until he let her go. Pansy looked down at him, and he gazed at her with the glazed eyes of someone who has just been thoroughly snogged. She was at loss for a second as to what she had been about to say, and she was just about to lean down again when her mental emergency brake went off in her head. "You realize no one's here," she said slowly, still not taking her eyes off him.

"Huh?" Ron looked around dazedly. "So you're right. Now c'mere."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Ron pulled away enough to look up and find his sister staring down at them, an amused smirk on her lips.

"Oh gods, not you too." Ron sighed heavily and leaned forward to rest his head on Pansy's shoulder.

Ginevra's smirk just widened. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen Hermione turn quite _that_ shade of red. Well done, Ronald." Seeing Ron and Pansy's alarmed expression, Ginny couldn't help but chuckle. Then, with a nearly imperceptible nod to Pansy, Ginevra quickly made her way out of the Library.

"What the …" Pansy trailed off, still looking at the Library door, in confusion.

Ron sighed, running his hand through his already mussed hair, courtesy of Pansy. "What have we just done?"

Pansy laughed, linking her arms behind his neck. "You can't tell me you regret it."

"No, not a bit," Ron said, smiling down at her. "But won't Draco and Blaise have a problem with us?"

"Is there an us?" Pansy asked sensibly, cocking her head.

Ron groaned, leaning back in his chair. "We'll figure all that out later … but for now …"

Pansy uncharacteristically giggled again as Ron pulled her back to him and they once again resumed more enjoyable activities.

… … …

Ron stumbled back into the Gryffindor common room well after curfew, swearing as he banged his shin on an armchair in the dark.

"Goddam-,"

"_Lumos_!"

Ron froze as he heard another voice in the room, and was more than a bit surprised to see Ginevra awake and brandishing a wand, in the same spot he usually occupied waiting for her.

"You're late!" Ginevra said with a smile, pointing at him accusingly with her wand. Ron opened and closed his mouth several times, bearing a striking resemblance to a fish, as he tried to figure out how to respond. After a few moments, Ginevra burst out laughing, truly laughing. Ron's mouth hit the floor; he hadn't heard her laugh in ... Merlin, it had been months since he'd heard her full, melodious laughter. Ginevra only laughed harder at the dumbstruck look on Ron's face, then sobered slowly as she realized how late it was and remembered the need for quiet. "So, Ron," she said, walking over. "What's this?" Ron followed her eyes to a red mark on his neck, then his eyes widened as one mark led to another one and another one... "New necklace?" Ginevra asked innocently.

"I ... erm ..."

She gave him a very Molly Weasley-like look. "Be honest with me, Ronald." If Ron had been less preoccupied with what he was going to tell her about himself and Pansy, he would have noticed the teasing tone in her voice, but, as it was, he didn't.

"Pansy has an ... erm ... biting fetish..." He cleared his throat nervously and started to tug on the edge of his sweater. Ginevra laughed softly at Ron's distress, and he stopped, confused again. "Gin, I'm sorta tired, and its been quite a day for me, so can you please just clearly tell me if you're mad at me or not?"

Ginevra took his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her directly. Then she slowly shook her head and spoke. "No, Ron, I am not now and never was mad at you."

"But you said ... god damnet! You're so bloody confusing, Ginny!" Ron reached up scrubbed his face with his hands. Ginevra was hard enough to figure out when he was awake, alert, and didn't have Pansy on his mind. Not to mention the fact that, in the back of his mind, he was desperately hoping for her, at least, to be accepting of his new relationship with Pansy. In that moment, he decided he needed to tell her why this situation had him so worked up in the first place. Ron suddenly found his hands very interesting. "Ginny, I really need you to understand that ... even though, we've had our differences in the past, you're just about all that matters to me now. We used to be best friends ... these past few years, I've let Harry and Hermione get in the way of that ... but without them ... we're ... you're my closest friend again. If you don't approve of this, I won't do it." Ron swallowed hard and looked up at Ginevra again. He was horrified to find tears shining in her dark brown eyes. "Gin ..."

She grabbed Ron's hands, then said solemnly, "Ron, you've accepted me when no one else was even willing to see that I had changed. We're back to being Ron and Gin again and I wouldn't change that for the world. That said, I'm not going to judge you on who you want to be with, just like you haven't judged me by how I've changed."

Ron furrowed his brow. "I'm not asking you to judge me ... I just want to know what you think of the whole thing."

Ginevra smiled through her tears and replied, "Well, I don't really know her that well, but as much as I do know her, I like her. And I think it's fabulous that you've found someone who is with you simply because of you, not because of your name or your house or whatever else. I'm happy for you, Ron; I really am." Ron laughed out loud, a goofy grin on his lips, as he swept Ginevra up into huge bear hug. Ginny, in turn, couldn't help but giggle, and hugged him back. "She really makes you happy, huh?" she asked, a few moments later.

"You've no idea, Gin! She … she just _gets_ me. This past week, almost every night we've spent just talking … well, and doing our Charms project. But we understand each other …"

"Well, I'll have to get to know this woman who has managed to steal my brother's heart." Ginevra smiled one last time, before starting for the portrait hole.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ron said hurriedly, grabbing her hand as she passed him. "No embarrassing baby stories, okay?"

Ginny smiled mischievously. "I make no promises, Ronald. Now are you coming, or not?"

"Coming where?"

"I found a new alcove; this one's a bit bigger, so you should be able to stretch your legs out."

"What…" Ron gave her a decidedly confused look.

"You've spent the whole week with Pansy, so I decided I was going to steal you away tonight. So are you coming or aren't you?"

Ron laughed and threw his arm around Ginevra's shoulders. "You really surprise me sometimes, do you know that?" She just smiled as they slipped out of the portrait hole.

… … …

Pansy strolled back into the Slytherin common room, expecting it to be empty. Instead, Blaise and Draco sat in chairs facing the doorway. "Well?" Draco said expectantly.

Pansy calmly walked past them and into her dormitory. "Well, what?" she asked as she passed them. She definitely was not in the mood to talk to them tonight. She was much too tired to try and figure things out.

Blaise watched her go, openmouthed. "Oh, no you don't!" Draco winced as Blaise stood up so fast the chair fell over behind him. Blaise made it to Pansy before she made it to the door of her dormitory. He proceeded to scoop her up in his arms and haul her, kicking and screaming – literally – into his dormitory. He dropped her, unceremoniously onto the leather couch before the fire. "What the fuck, Blaise!"

Draco followed, then bent down so his face was level with Pansy's. "We think that you need a little quiet time to reflect,"

"Retract is more like it," Blaise muttered.

"On your recent behaviour," Draco continued with a flourish in Blaise's direction.

"My recent behaviour? What are you, my parents!" Pansy gave them both a dark look and tried to get up and leave, only to have Draco push her back – albeit gently – onto the couch.

"You have some explaining to do, Pansy," Blaise murmured with an acidic edge to his voice.

Pansy growled, shoving Draco's hand away. "It is none of your business!" she snarled.

"I thought we could discuss this calmly and rationally, like adults. But apparently, you'd prefer to do it the hard way." Blaise knew his matter-of-fact tone was only serving to increase Pansy's annoyance. But then he realized he didn't care; he wanted some goddamned answers.

Pansy got her rage under control, barely. "Look, you two," she started, anger apparent under her calm. "I am not a child, and if I choose to make out with all of fucking Gryffindor, then I have that right," she said calmly. Draco and Blaise just stared for a moment, before quickly overcoming their shock. Blaise's eyes narrowed and he looked positively murderous. Draco, on the other hand, had schooled his features into a mask of cold indifference, which was probably worse than Blaise's fury. Pansy stood, stalking past Draco and Blaise. "Do whatever the fuck you want; but do it when it concerns your lives and your business."

"No, uh, uh, not a chance in hell, Pansy. We're not letting you out of here until you tell us what the fuck is going on with you!" Blaise yelled at her back as she stormed towards the door. When she reached it she found, much to her dismay, that Blaise had transfigured it so that the handle was no more; there was simply a solid piece of immovable wood.

Pansy growled; he knew she was horrible at transfiguration. If he'd used a locking charm, she would've been out of there without any trouble. But the bugger had to go and transfigure the damn door. "Damn it, Blaise! Let me out!"

Blaise smirked at Pansy's scowl, and then began berating her fiercely. "Do you quite understand that what you are doing is wrong, even for you?"

Pansy looked at Blaise unbelievingly. "Oh, now you're going to lecture me on what's right and wrong? Draco, quick! Check outside; I do believe snow is falling in Hell!"

"I'm serious! Does he even realize how he's being used as your little boy toy! Come on, Pansy! You can't honestly tell me that you don't see how wrong that is! Even if he is a Gryffindor and a Muggle-loving one at that, it's still wrong to use him as your little sex toy!"

Pansy strode up to Blaise, her fury evident. "You think that's all he means to me?" she hissed, making him draw back instinctively. "You think that I'm like you, running through partners and switching them around any time I feel I need variety?"

"Oh wait, we're supposed to believe that you genuinely like him, right?" Draco asked in a mocking tone. "Yeah, I'll throw you a party the day you 'fall in love', Pans. Right after I finish ice-skating through Hades with Persephone."

Pansy was temporarily stunned. She opened her mouth with a retort, but closed it again with hurt. Did Draco really think so low of her? Did he really think that she could never fall in love? Sure, she might not be in love with Ron now. But to know that one of the people who knew you best in the world thought it was never possible hurt more deeply than she was willing to admit. Draco, who'd been watching her quizzically, finally seemed to realize how much his previous statement had hurt her.

"Oh shit, Pans, I didn't mean-"

"I know exactly what you meant," Pansy responded hollowly. "Blaise, will you please unlock the door? I'm rather tired; it's been a long day and I want to have a bath before I go to bed." Pansy didn't even meet their eyes; she simply stood there, hands clasped, and stared at the carpet. She knew Draco and Blaise were looking at each other with confused looks, but she didn't really care.

"No, Pansy, we're not done discussing things."

Suddenly, Pansy snapped. She let out a primordial scream of rage and, pointing her wand at the door, shouted, "Bombarda!" The door exploded, flying off its hinges and into the hallway. Draco and Blaise watched, horrified, as Pansy stepped out of the dormitory, being careful not to step on any of the splintered wood. She then proceeded to walk back to her dormitory, chin set in an indignant fashion, head held high. The door slammed moments later and Draco and Blaise heard the distinct noises of glass – most likely the set of hand mirrors they had given Pansy – smashing into the wall.

"Draco, we've got to go talk to her." There was an odd, panicky edge to Blaise's voice that greatly unnerved Draco.

"Are you off your fucking rocker! She'll murder us, immortal or not!"

"I don't care! We can't just let her leave!"

"Blaise –"

"No! We can't go to bed angry! We … what if we never get the chance to resolve this?"

Draco sighed heavily; this was something Pansy had constantly berated them about in the past. Going to bed angry could only lead to bad things. "There's nothing we can do, Blaise. Just go to sleep." Without saying another word, Draco slowly made his way to his own dormitory, his shoulders slumped.

… … …

Pansy threw herself across her bed, staring straight up at the ceiling. She had broken the mirrors Draco and Blaise had gotten her last year, and yes, she thought unwillingly, it was ironic that two vampyres give her such a gift. But that the two in question had always thought she was so heartless... Pansy sat up, troubled more by this than she had ever suspected she would be. She felt a small pang as she thought of Ron, and the knowledge that she might never grow to love him... Pansy gasped, glimpsing her face in the shards now littering the floor. Her hand rose to her face, gently brushing away her first tears in a long time.

A/N: _Jess - The feedback on this story is really overwhelming... it's like... whoa..._** Pia – Haha, I love the surfer-dude impression there. But really, thank you all so much for your wonderful support. It means a lot. **_And wasn't this chapter fluffy? I wouldn't get too used to it though. Ron and Pansy are our only outlet for anything relatively "cute"._** But then, of course, we had to ruin it by Draco acting like the arse he is … albeit a sexy arse. **_Oh, hell yes... Just a warning for any squeamish people out there, this story's rating WILL go up shortly, because we really don't want to even risk being reported._** Oui, by Chapter 6, it will be up to M, FYI. _Thanks to all our readers and please review and let us know how we're doing!_**

**_Oh, yeah, and so people can stop asking us this question. We never said Ginevra was a vamp, so to put it plainly; GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY IS NOT A VAMPYRE!_**

The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity – **Well, you'll be happy to note, my dear, that this chapter is quite a bit longer than the last one. **_It's rather odd you think it was short... it was actually one of our longest ones, but meh, no difference. About Percy, well, even if we wanted to, we couldn't really make him anything resembling cool. _**Oui, Percy won't be cool, although he won't be a complete arse, either. Hope that helps!**

Gene – _We get interesting a lot._ **Yes, indeed. And I always assume that people mean it in the best possible way. **_One can hope. Well, our updates should be pretty regular, so you won't have to wait too long. Thanks for reviewing!_

BabyKelyse – **Mwahahaha! Our evil plan is working! smirks evilly and rubs hands together in a maniacal fashion **_LOL indeed, 'tis. You shall fall prey to our sinister acts of story-weaving yet! **Mwahaha!**_

Light barrer – _Well, not to make you uncomfortable, but Pia and I hate HArry with a deep-rooted passion. We don't find him to be heroic in the least._ **Oui. He's a wussy little pansy-ass and that's all I have to say on the subject. He's going to get REALLY bad, so be prepared for that.**

Serpentofsalazar – **I'm definitely loving the pen name! ** _ Yes, we do share a certain affinity for Slytherin. Thank you very much, and here's more!_

Alexandria J. Malfoy – _Actually, that chapter was a bit filler-y. But it's good to know you liked it anyway!_ **Indeed. We promise more wickedness to come! **

Tonu10167 – **Lol, well, we'll try not to keep you waiting too long. Jess is gonna post a chapter while I'm on vacation, next week, I think. So there will be at least one up next week. **_Yes, and so, you can (or can't, whatever floats your boat) check, friday, and it shall be there. Thanks for reviewing!_

Girl Without a Life – **_Thanks!_**

IssaLee – _Meh, math is useless anyway. Who knows what Ron is thinking? We certainly don't._ **Pansy might, but then, I almost doubt that. But there will be some testosterone fests in the coming chapters, I assure you.**

Mione and Ron – **Lol, well we have no intention of stopping writing until the story's finished, so rest assured. **_No no, no need to get physical... unless it's with Draco... **yummy.**_

Padfoot 4 Life – _Rest assured, my grudge is against the Boy Wonder and the Know-it-All alone. Sirius I do indeed like. _**Although I will say that Sirius is much like Snape in that, writers can either write him absolutely wonderfully, or dreadfully horribly.**_ And assuming we're not one schizophrenic author named Herb who is agoraphobic and lives in someone's basement, it is interesting to run into another two-person writer. Pia and I very rarely disagree, which is odd in itself._ **Indeed! I think that's because we're both utterly insane, but we won't go into that. Thanks for reviewing!**

Fred – **Fred! You little wench! Kudo points for actually not being a lazy ass for once and reviewing!** _Yes, thank you very much, even if you were...er... persuaded into it._ **All your questions will be answered in due time. **

BooBooKittyFuxs – **_Thanks!_**

storylover03 – **_Thanks!_**

**I'd like to apologize to everyone, for the really crappy review responses. Nearly all of the voices have been in a meeting to discuss my vampyre series all day, so that leaves Kale in control. And when Kale's in control, this is what you get. Jess is simply accommodating my need to get these done quickly and as painlessly as possible, so it's not her fault! Again, I'm sorry! Next chapter's will be extra long and heart-felt, I promise! **


	7. 6: Unusual Conclusions

**Chapter 6**

Ginevra noted happily that she was the first one awake in Griffindor and quickly made her way out of the Common Room. The fewer times she had to confront Hermione or Harry in one day, the better. She slipped out of the portrait, coming face to face with a very tired looking Pansy Parkinson. After overcoming her shock at seeing Pansy standing -- fidgeting with her hands, no less -- outside the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginevra noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes and her hair looked less groomed than usual. "Are you looking for Ron?" Ginevra asked gently. Pansy nodded her head, wordlessly. "Okay, let me go get him. Wait right here." Pansy nodded again, still not meeting Ginevra's eyes.

Ginevra quickly turned around and went back into the Common Room. While she wasn't particularly excited about barging into the 7th year boys dormitory – not when she knew quite a few of them slept in the nude – Pansy's appearance was enough to make her grin and bear it. Sticking her head into the dormitory, eyes firmly closed, she said, "Ron! Get your arse out of bed this instant and come downstairs. There's someone waiting for you outside the portrait!" She waited outside the dormitory and, within a few moments, Ron came out, hair still damp from his shower.

"What's up, Gin?"

"Pansy's waiting for you ... she looks upset." Ginevra didn't see the concern that flashed in Ron's eyes because she immediately turned around and walked down the stairs. Ron followed moments later and the two walked out to meet Pansy. With a small, encouraging smile in Pansy's direction, Ginevra said goodbye to Ron and started for the Great Hall.

Ron said nothing for a moment, taking in Pansy's figure silently. She never met his eyes, just stared at the ground resolutely. Ron reached out to her before ever thinking, drawing her into the embrace of his arms. She sighed, tightening her fists in his shirt, and he quickly looked around to make sure they were alone. "Come on," he whispered softly. "I know a place where we can go for a bit. I'm sure Ginny won't mind." Pansy said nothing about this odd statement, only worrying Ron more. Cupping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her protectively to him and began walking slowly down the hallway.

Ron walked Pansy slowly towards the tapestry, still unsettled by her silence, and then moved it aside, pressing on the triangular brick as he'd seen Ginevra do. He ushered Pansy inside, and took his usual cramped seat next to her. The space was as small as he'd remembered, but at least they would have no unwanted visitors. "Alright, Pans, what's wrong?"

Hearing Draco and Blaise's nickname fall from his lips sent her into another fit of misery. "Ron," she whispered, her voice cracking from lack of use. "I don't know what to do... I screwed things up so bad... But maybe they were already like that, and I was just too blind to see it..."

Ron felt a bit ill at the uncharacteristic helplessness of her voice. This wasn't the Pansy he was used to; this was someone who was lost in themselves. "Oh, sweetheart," he said, the endearment falling from his lips naturally. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, knowing somehow that she wasn't ready to expose herself like this to him, even if she had come to Gryffindor to see him.

As he suspected, Pansy shook her head, and said in a small voice, "Can you just hold me for a minute?" Ron immediately drew her into his arms, ignoring the pain from the contortions this position required of his long legs. He stroked her hair, allowing her to turn her face into his chest. He'd actually never felt so helpless. It was a few minutes before he realized she was murmuring something, and he lowered his head to hear her better. "I can't be like you, Ron," she said softly. Ron reached a hand up to brush away the beginnings of tears from her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Ron," she gestured helplessly. "I don't know if I can ever..."

"Pansy, look at me," Ron said firmly, turning her face up to his. "Now say what you need to say."

"I don't know if I can ever love you," she whispered, looking away in shame.

She was surprised to hear a low chuckle from Ron, and when she raised her face unbelievingly to his, she saw understanding there. "Oh, Pans," he whispered reverently. "When you are ready to love someone, anyone, you will," he said, starting to stroke her hair again. "Don't ever force yourself to love."

Pansy was overcome with emotion at his simple words, and she leaned her head forward until their foreheads touched. "Thank you, Ron," she said softly, looking into his eyes.

He smiled that small smile of his, brushing her lips carefully with his own. "Let's get out of here." He walked her back to Slytherin, where she allowed herself one last hug. "Pans," he whispered. She said nothing as he said his last words so softly she couldn't be sure she even heard him correctly. "When you do decide to open yourself to someone, I can only hope it will be me." Then he was gone, leaving behind a confused, troubled, but oddly content Pansy Parkinson.

… … …

"Hey, big brother –" Ginevra was about to tease him, but then she saw the sad, confused look on his face and thought better of it.

"Hullo, Gin." Without even looking at her, Ron slumped into his usual seat at the Gryffindor table. He did notice, however, that Hermione and Harry were absent from the table this morning, something he was quite pleased about. He started to scoop food onto his plate, trying his best not to follow through with the urge to send two particular men at the Slytherin table a heated glare.

Ginevra looked at Ron oddly, seeing his hand clench around his mug of pumpkin juice. "Did everything go alright with Pansy?"

"Depends on what you mean. Is Pansy all cheered up? Most definitely." Ron shoveled some eggs into his mouth, hoping it would be enough of an excuse for Ginevra not to ask him any more questions about Pansy.

Ginevra would not be so easily deterred, however. "Well, wasn't she crying?"

Ron stared at Ginevra. "You can be very persistent, even when it's clear I don't want to talk about it," he said, not unkindly.

"Ronald, I grew up in a house with six brothers who would rather soak family jewels in boiling oil than actually talk about something. How did you think I managed to stay in the 'know' after all these years, if not by persistence?" Ginevra smirked and returned to her breakfast, although Ron could tell she wasn't done interrogating him.

Ron sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to tell her at some point. "Alright," he said, lowering his voice. He told her briefly what had happened previously with Pansy, omitting Pansy's comment about not knowing if she could ever love. Ginny didn't need to know that.

"Are you sure we're talking about the same Pansy Parkinson?" Ginevra asked, disbelief evident on her face and in her tone.

"Don't be like that, Gin." Ron scowled at her. "You saw how messed up she was when she was outside the portrait. She _is_ capable of having real, human emotions, despite what 3/4 of Hogwarts would like to think." Ginevra stared at her plate, and Ron immediately softened. Ginevra, of all people, would understand being misunderstood. "Oh, Gin, she just needs someone there to understand that her Slytherin persona is just that, a persona."

"I know, Ron..." She trailed off as the post came soaring in. Within moments, an unfamiliar owl landed between her and Ron, Daily Prophet clasped tightly in its beak. She paid it and watched it soar off, before turning to the paper.

Ginevra unfurled the paper, and saw a bold headline: **Vampyre Caught!** Looking at the article interestedly, she read a few lines, enough to know that while they had caught a genuine vampyre, it was not the one responsible for the recent attacks. Ginevra was about to pass the paper along to Ron – she didn't enjoy reading the Daily Prophet very much, as most of the things they reported were utter nonsense – but a strange picture caught her eye. It was down at the bottom of the front page and the man in the picture looked decidedly nervous. Which wasn't all that surprising; he was the vampyre they'd caught. His eyes were rolling wildly, and between snarls at his captors, Ginevra could see how he sniffed the air periodically. He didn't act like a normal human, now that she saw him by himself, and it was very familiar... A loud noise drew her attention to the Slytherin table, where Draco had thrown a piece of toast at Blaise, only to have pumpkin juice thrown back at him. Ginevra looked down at the picture. The man was pale. She looked up at the pale faces now engaged in an argument. Looking quickly back down at the paper, she could see the way his tongue darted out to touch his fangs ever so often, as if reassuring himself that they were there. She'd seen someone else do that... Draco had when she'd spoken about death! Then, suddenly, the memory came rushing back to her. _Do you have any idea what we are!_ Ginevra gasped involuntarily. Standing quickly, she grabbed her bag. "I have to go to the Library," she muttered to a confused Ron, casting one final look over her shoulder at the two boys still quarreling at the Slytherin Table before striding out.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Draco was trying desperately to get Blaise to calm down and not cause a scene. There was already enough gossip surrounding the Slytherin Royalty; they didn't need an argument to add fuel to the fire. "Blaise, let's step outside and discuss this away from prying ears."

"Let's not, Draco! I don't care what any of these cheeky slags see or hear." Draco winced, noticing the glares Blaise got for his comment. "But I won't sit and do nothing while Pansy pouts because she made a bad decision!"

"And if you go in there talking like that, she's only going to get more angry with you. Now, let's continue this in our dormitory." Draco grabbed Blaise by the elbow, pushing his forefinger onto the pressure point on the inside of his elbow. Blaise hissed in pain and allowed Draco to drag him out of the Great Hall.

… … …

Pansy was lying on her bed, just thinking, when she heard a knock on her door. Knowing whom it was, and knowing that this confrontation was inevitable, she opened the door to admit an irritated looking Blaise, and a somewhat sheepish-looking Draco -- not that Draco ever looked very sheepish anyway.

"I suppose I ought to thank you for giving me the morning to cool off. But then, I suppose you did it more to save your own skins than actually in consideration of me," Pansy stated dryly. Despite the fact that she was in a considerably better mood and willing to reconcile, she still wasn't going to make this easy on them. They'd been way out of line and they knew it, or at least, she hoped they did.

Blaise scowled, and Draco winced at the practicality of her statement. "Oh, Pans," Draco started imploringly, hoping Blaise wouldn't say anything stupid that would only anger her more. "You know we didn't mean it-"

"Maybe you didn't mean it, because I sure as hell did! Every damn word!" Draco began to wonder what he had done to deserve Blaise. He must have been a serial killer in a past life.

Pansy sat up abruptly, glaring at Blaise. "Perhaps I'm missing something, because I really don't understand what the fuck your problem is!" Draco stepped toward her, only to receive a heated glare. "Shut up, you're next."

"You know, I don't know when you became such an a-" Draco hurriedly clapped his hand over Blaise's mouth, effectively cutting off whatever he had been about to say.

"An accepting person!" Draco finished brightly with an innocent smile. "He was wondering when you became so accepting."

"Is that right?" Pansy asked sardonically.

"Of course! Isn't that what you were about to say Blaise?" When Blaise looked at Draco oddly, he stomped on his foot hard, producing an unintelligible groan from Blaise. "See, exactly. An accepting person!"

Pansy pursed her lips, giving both men an exasperated stare. "Let's just all discuss this like adults. Firstly, I'm going to tell you that ... well, I'm not really sure where this is going with Ron. Right now, it's just about the fact that we enjoy each other's company. And while I'm sure its hard to comprehend the fact that a Slytherin like me has no ulterior motive, I promise you that it's true.

"Secondly, regardless of what you might think of Gryffindors, Ron is not a Potter worshipper like the rest of them, and I won't have you two terrorizing him as if he is."

"Ha!" Blaise scoffed. "Not a Potter worshipper! The boy is his bloody sidekick for Merlin's sake! If that's not Pothead worship, then I don't know what is!"

Pansy regarded Blaise coolly, shaking her head. "Maybe at one point, Blaise. But you, of all people, should understand how people change."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise snapped.

Draco turned to face the full-length mirror behind him. It was odd – not having a reflection. He was glad though; if he had been able to see himself, he would have been disgusted by the look of distress in his eyes. The three of them were not supposed to fight each other; it had always been them against the world. And this quarrelling ... it was simply unnatural, he decided.

"Look, Pansy," Draco said, abruptly turning to face her. "This cannot go on. You know the risks we take, and will continue to take, even if they're not by choice. We can't argue like this, not when this is really none of our business." Here Blaise started to speak, but Draco looked at him pointedly. Pansy looked thoroughly surprised by Draco's impromptu speech, but, within moments, surprise melted into guarded happiness. "You know I didn't mean what I said, Pans. It's just that ... you know as well as we do how uncommon it is for Slytherins to actually _care_ about people. It's unheard of."

"True as that may be, Draco, I'll be the first to admit that ... I do care about my family ..." Pansy trailed off, becoming suddenly interested in her fingernails.

Here Blaise looked at Pansy oddly. "What?" he asked confusedly. He knew, for a fact, that Pansy's only living blood relative was her father, and he was locked away in Azkaban for Death Eater Activity for the rest of his life. Blaise also knew that Pansy hated her father with every fiber of her being.

Pansy rolled her eyes, humiliation forgotten in the face of Blaise being so dense. "I meant you two wankers!"

Draco chuckled softly. "You know, only you would be able to give us such a compliment and insult our intelligence in one breath."

"It's a gift," Pansy replied with a grin.

Draco stilled her with one hand before she could say anything. "While I do acknowledge it's none of our business, we will have to see about Ron..."

"Make sure he's able to be trusted, being the noble Gryffinwhore he is," Blaise finished darkly.

Pansy sighed dramatically, but couldn't quite contain her smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Just make sure you don't ... damage him too much. I don't really fancy having a clinically insane boyfriend, after all."

Draco smirked. "Don't worry; we'll leave all the necessary ... _bits_ intact."

Blaise shuddered visibly. "Oh, we won't we going anywhere near his 'bits' at all," he said, much to Pansy's amusement.

… … …

"Children, children, please. Can we refrain from acting like apes while we're at the table?" Draco and Blaise gave Pansy nearly identical annoyed looks, but stopped throwing chips at each other, content to mutter insults back and forth. "Honestly, you'd think you'd been raised by barbarians!" Pansy rolled her eyes at their immaturity, but couldn't help smiling a little.

Blaise and Draco were so busy quarreling; neither noticed a redhead slip into the room late, or an owl fly over to them until it screeched close to their faces. Draco plucked the owl out of the air and Blaise reached out to untie the little package that was attached to its leg. There was also a piece of parchment clutched in its beak. Draco tentatively took the parchment to open it, while Blaise picked up the package curiously. _Please enjoy. One for each; you don't even have to share._ Before Draco could puzzle out the meaning to the unsigned note, he saw Blaise hiss in disgust and fling the package away from him as if it were on fire. It fell on the table and two cloves of garlic rolled out.

A/N: _Jess: Ah, the angst. This chapter actually was a bit more angsty than we intended, but it still played out nicely, in my opinion. I'm all alone this time! Pia has gone on vacation, so wouldn't it be nice to give her a nice already-gone-away gift and review? No? Ok, fine, be that way. I know the rating was supposed to go up this chapter, but we didn't think it was quite necessary yet. Bear in mind that it will eventually. Pia's heartfelt thank you's will be next chapter, I'm sure._

_I'm on my own answering our lovely reviews today, so here we go:_

Issalee_ – Oh, we could never poison Pansy! And thank you very much! Ciao!_

Alexandria J. Malfoy _– Ah, we just don't like Hermy or Harry. But hey, that's life. How can people not love Ron! I will agree that our story is different, but hopefully it's a good different!_

BlueBerriRain_ – Thank you very much! And of course, it made sense, in an odd way… I hope you didn't hurt yourself on the feathers in this chapter, but let's not forget, once Draco comes around things won't be fluffy… They'll be burnt marshmallow-y… Or something like that…_

The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity_ – Ha, Pia makes you review, doesn't she? Thanks anyway, and yes, there is explaining to do. All in good time, though. And yes, it is a very helpful comment… all that shit can be better than 'UPDATE!' Now that's a useless comment. Draco will get his action, don't you worry!_

Meadow B_ – Why thank you! And I love Pansy/Ron, but keep in mind that a good author could make almost any ship seem interesting, so stay open-minded!_

storylover03 –_ Poor Pansy indeed! She gets her revenge! Thank you very much for reviewing! _

Samantha Marie_ – Ah, another of Pia's forced reviews. Weren't you Fred last chapter? Well, thank you for reviewing, even if you despise it so!_


	8. 7: Congrats from the Slytherin House

**Chapter 7**

Draco immediately shot to his feet, snarling and dropping the parchment he held to the table. "What-" Pansy began, but stopped and snickered lightly when she saw the cloves of garlic. Blaise scowled at Pansy, for a moment, before he and Draco turned, simultaneously, and strode out of the Great Hall as fast as they could without arousing suspicion.

Across the room, a redhead watched them go, their reactions and sudden departure confirming her suspicions. As she watched, Pansy looked over and caught her eye, and Ginevra smiled slightly back. Pansy stooped and gathered the parchment and garlic, putting it back into the box it had been sent in. With a knowing nod to Ginevra, she exited the Hall amid much speculation from all four houses as to the Slytherins' odd behaviour.

Pansy entered her dormitory to find two, highly agitated vampyres pacing the room at opposite ends. She noticed that they were taking great care not to cross each other's path, which was probably a very good idea. She set down the box and parchment on her vanity and walked over to the couch, sitting down on the arm of it, so that she could still see both of them.

Draco was muttering to himself angrily, but Blaise looked livid. "Who the fuck could it be, Pansy?" he yelled. "Who the fuck found out?" Pansy said nothing, as Blaise didn't seem to require an answer from her before returning to his pacing. Draco stopped pacing abruptly, his entire body rigid. He turned jerkily to face Pansy's vanity and sniffed the air several times. "What is it, mate?" Blaise had stopped pacing, as well, to observe his friend's odd behaviour.

"That scent..." Draco muttered, walking over to Pansy's vanity and ignoring Blaise's confused stare. "I know it, I do..." He avoided the package and picked up the parchment, sniffing it delicately.

"Draco ... you're --"

"Shh!" Draco snapped impatiently as he continued to finger the parchment. Blaise started to say something else, but stopped abruptly when Pansy sent him a dark look. Blaise watched Draco as if he'd gone mad as he stroked the parchment gently. "Ah," Draco whispered, his eyes unfocused. "So she knows... How _advantageous_... This will save us some time..."

"I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out," Pansy said softly, not taking her eyes off of the parchment in Draco's hands.

"Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?" Blaise snapped, abruptly.

Pansy snatched the paper from Draco's hands, holding it out to Blaise. "Does that smell familiar to you?"

Blaise smirked. "Smells like Weasley."

"But not just any Weasley," Pansy countered smugly. "The only Weasley who would have a reason to smell like vanilla is..."

"The Weasel Queen!" Blaise said as it dawned on him. Then his expression darkened. "I think we need to pay her a visit."

"Do we?" Draco said absentmindedly, his trance-like state broken. "That's nice."

… … …

The three Slytherins found her in an abandoned corridor on the sixth floor of the school. From the looks of it, Potter had finally managed to corner her there, much to Ginevra's chagrin.

"I told you, Harry! I'm not going to Hogsmeade!"

"You can't hide in your dormitory forever, Ginny! It's not good for you!"

"Yes, because you know what's good for me and what isn't right?"

"If you're just saying no because of Ron, I'll talk to him. I'm sure he'll be okay with it!"

"This has nothing to do with Ron! This has to do with the fact that I don't want to go to Hogsmeade with you!"

Potter reached out and grasped Ginevra's arm in, what looked like, a rather painful grip. She tried to twist away, but simply wasn't strong enough. "I know you like me, Ginny. You have for ages."

Ginevra pushed Harry away again, just as Draco turned the corner and saw the two of them standing together. Something in him snapped then, and he walked forward, shaking off Pansy's hand.

Harry lunged for Ginevra, pulling her roughly against him, despite her feeble protests. "Why are you fighting it, Ginny? Your whole family wants us to be together."

"Harry, please stop!" This no longer had anything to do with Hogsmeade.

As the unnoticed Draco drew closer to Harry and a struggling Ginevra, he vaguely noted that he could smell Firewhisky on Harry. But he didn't spare it another thought before savagely ripping Harry off of Ginevra, and throwing him against the wall as if he weighed nothing. Focusing on Ginevra, who regarded him with a mix of curiosity and confusion, but no fear, he extended his hand to her.

"_Incendio_!" Draco didn't even flinch as he heard and felt Potter's slurred, ineffectual spell wash over him without causing any damage. Ginevra however, gasped, immediately running her hands over him instinctively to check for any injury.

"Get lost, Potter. We want a word with your little girlfriend here." Draco snarled slightly, but said nothing in response to Blaise's remark. Draco kept his eyes trained on Ginevra, who was staring back up at him, in turn. Potter, seeing that he was vastly outnumbered, staggered away from the group. Pansy couldn't contain her snickers as she heard the crash that could only mean Potter had run into a suit of armor.

Draco felt Ginevra's hands still on his back, and he suddenly was overcome with lightheadedness. He could feel his head slowly lowering to hers, even as her face turned up to his. He needed to get closer to her, but he couldn't, because … because... "Draco! Get the hell up!" Oh, yeah, that's why. When Draco didn't respond, Blaise strode over to the dazed couple. He promptly pushed Draco back, out of his way, and yanked Ginevra to her feet, none too gently. He chose to ignore Draco's pronounced growl. "C'mon Red. We want a word."

Ginevra looked suspiciously at Blaise. "And why, exactly, do you think I'd go with you?"

Ginevra was a bit miffed that Blaise thought her so stupid as to actually trust him, but then she felt a light touch at her elbow. "We won't harm you, Ginevra," Draco said silkily. "Promise." Ginevra was unable to look away from him, and she just nodded as if in a daze and allowed Pansy to gently lead her.

A little while later, the four found themselves in Pansy's dormitory. Blaise was pacing the room, once again, while Pansy took a seat on the high-backed chair before the fire. "Please sit down, Ginevra," Pansy said softly, making a valiant attempt at a smile.

"I'd rather stand, thanks."

"I assume you know what this is about," Pansy asked, toying with the box from earlier.

"Of course," Ginevra said, a smile hovering about her lips.

"You bitch!" Blaise seethed.

"What did you hope to accomplish with that stunt?" Pansy asked softly.

Ginevra smiled again, this time at Draco, who was watching her every movement intently. "Oh, just thought maybe you would answer a few questions I have, you know."

"Over my dead body," Blaise responded coldly.

"An incentive if I ever heard one," said Ginevra with a bright smile.

"Blaise, please," Pansy snapped, looking more than a little annoyed. "As for your questions ... I think we can at least consider them. We owe it to your intelligence. No one else has yet been able to figure out just what about them is so ... _different_." Pansy smirked and was about to continue, when Draco interrupted her.

"We'll answer your questions. All of them."

Ginevra smirked, and Blaise shot Draco a look. "What do you mean, _all_ of them?"

"Whatever she wishes to know ..." Draco all but whispered, still not looking away from Ginevra.

"What? So she can broadcast it all over the school? Oh, that's rich, Draco. Bloody rich!"

Pansy only smiled. "You wouldn't do that, now would you, Ginevra?"

Ginevra felt something brush her mind, and calm stole over her. It was familiar in that she'd felt it before, but it wasn't alarming like Legilimency. Not very many people were privy to the fact that Ginevra had attended Occlumency lessons after the incident in her first year with Tom Riddle. She'd excelled at it, even was praised – albeit lightly – by her teacher, Professor Snape.

"And who, exactly, would I broadcast it to, Zabini?" Ginevra asked, shaking off the odd feeling and ignoring Pansy's question.

"Oh I don't know ... the Dream Team of Gryffindor!"

Ginevra only held her composure for a fleeting moment before she dissolved into a fit of giggles. She was laughing so hard that, after a moment, she collapsed onto the couch, clutching her stomach.

Draco couldn't help but think how much he liked her laugh. It was light and almost ... musical. It was certainly unlike any laugh he'd ever heard.

Ginevra finally managed to get herself under control, but only burst out laughing again at the incredulous look on Blaise's face.

"Oh bloody 'ell! Pansy! Do something!"

"And what would you like me to do, Blaise? Zap her with my wand?" This only succeeded in making Ginevra laugh harder.

Draco, on the other hand, was fighting the smile that was trying to worm its way onto his face.

Pansy grimaced, shaking Ginevra by the shoulders. "Sweet hell, maybe Blaise is right and you are crazy." This time, Draco had to laugh too, and he and Ginevra collapsed in hilarity while Blaise and Pansy stared in amazement. Draco was most definitely not acting like himself; he never laughed like this. "Oh good god! Why do we even try?" With an annoyed huff, Pansy pulled out a book and settled into her chair to read. It took the better part of ten minutes, but, eventually, Ginevra and Draco managed to calm down. By that time, however, Blaise looked ready to kill.

Draco finally got his mirth under control, and then looked over at Ginevra to find her warm brown eyes inches from his. Suddenly, he forgot that Blaise and Pansy were even in the room anymore; he had to have Ginevra to himself, _now_.

"If you are quite finished!" Blaise yelled, pulling Draco to his feet and away from Ginevra. Draco growled instinctively and shook Blaise's arm off, starting back towards Ginevra. But Pansy got there before him, standing directly in front of him.

"Draco," she whispered, soothingly. "This is neither the time, nor the place, my friend." With one last, despondent growl, Draco moved reluctantly to the other side of the room.

Ginevra had been watching Draco hungrily, and she scowled at Blaise for interrupting. "What did you bring me here for?" she asked savagely.

Blaise stared at her, incredulously. "You sent us fucking cloves of garlic! What were we supposed to do? Just wait and see if you decided you wanted to try your hand with wooden stakes? Or perhaps fire is more your style!"

Ginevra smiled. "Ah, so you admit what I already know, _vampyre_?"

Pansy set down her book, finding the conversation interesting again. "Oh, to be sure, they're vampyres. Well done." Blaise looked like he was about to start ranting again, so Pansy quickly interrupted. "You said something about having questions for us, Ginevra?"

Ginevra stretched, and then regarded Pansy curiously. "How long? And how do you keep it such a secret?"

"Well, I'm no vampyre," replied Pansy.

"No shit, Sherlock," Ginevra quipped. "But seeing as Blaise looks about ready to bite me, I thought asking you might not endanger my life as much."

Draco stepped forward, out of the shadows, abruptly. "I promised you that we would not harm you, Ginevra. I mean to keep that promise."

Ginevra turned to Draco. Something made her want to trust him, to believe him, but she didn't know what. "I know," she responded softly. She knew Draco wouldn't break his promise. But she had no such faith in Blaise. "Regardless," she continued after a moment, "I'd still like an answer. You don't have to, of course. I won't be divulging your secret to anyone ... even I'm not that cold hearted. But I would greatly appreciate it, all the same."

Pansy bit her lip thoughtfully. "You told no one about my meeting with your brother. I guess you can be trusted." Blaise groaned and turned away, but Draco leaned forward. There was much to tell, and not very much time.

… … …

Ron and Pansy were working on their paper for Charms in Pansy's dormitory when Pansy realized how late it was. "Ron, you know Draco and Blaise will be back soon."

"Hmm.." Ron murmured noncommittally, squinting at one his notes.

It had been a few days since the incident with Ginevra, and Pansy had been pleased to note that everyone had calmed down considerably. Except for Draco, that is. Ginevra seemed to be avoiding him, which only succeeded in ruffling Draco's proverbial feathers.

Pansy frowned at Ron as he focused all of his attention on the paper. They were already so far ahead of most everyone else; they didn't need to keep working at such a feverish pace. "Ron," Pansy called, waving her hand in his face. He looked up at her, as if disoriented.

"Yeah, Pans?"

"I think," she said playfully, sliding into his lap, "that it's time to take a break, don't you?" Ron's mouth went slack jawed at her spontaneity, and Pansy took advantage of his silence to begin placing small kisses up his jaw line. "Isn't this," she spoke between tiny kisses, "much more fun … than Charms homework?"

Ron groaned, wrapping his arms around her, and she looked up into his eyes, dark with desire. "Most definitely," he said roughly, before claiming her lips with his own.

"Oh god! Eww! That was not something I ever needed to see! Ever!"

"For Merlin's sake! It's like walking in on your bloody parents! Ah! Make it stop!"

Pansy pulled away from Ron, abruptly – despite his protests – to find Draco and Blaise standing in the door of her dormitory, hands clamped tightly over their eyes. At seeing their comical expressions of disgust, she couldn't help but laugh slightly. "You can look now."

"Are you sure? The game's over?"

"The game?" Pansy asked Blaise, thoroughly confused.

"Tonsil hockey," Draco quipped. "Fun to play, not so much fun to watch."

"Yes, someone has called for a time out." Pansy leered and rolled her eyes. "Stupid wankers."

Ron smirked at Blaise and Draco, who were looking at him with twin expressions of revulsion. "Wow, Pans, you have rather... _interesting_... friends."

Pansy grinned. "Tell me something I don't know."

Blaise gave a sarcastic laugh, sitting on the couch as far from them as he could get. "Where's your sister?" he asked, his effort to keep his voice civil obvious.

"In her dormitory, I would assume. She's not been in the best mood the past few days, so I'm trying to stay out of her way as much as possible," Ron answered frankly as he shifted Pansy into a more comfortable position on his lap.

"Awe, isn't that considerate?" Draco shot back, as he sat down in the high-backed chair. His tone, rather than being mean and sarcastic was, more or less, light and joking.

"Ha! Have you ever seen Ginny angry?" The other three people in the room gave him looks that clearly indicated that they hadn't. "Well, if you had, you'd know that it's more out of self-preservation that I'm giving her space, rather than consideration."

Draco cocked his head. "So where were you when Potter was assaulting her?"

"What?" Ron roared, gently moving Pansy aside so he could spring up.

"Draco," Pansy said miserably, as she took in Ron's already-red face.

"Pansy ... what is he talking about?" Pansy had never heard Ron sound like that before; his voice was cold and dangerous.

Pansy took Ron's hands gently between her own. "Ron," she started slowly. "We," she motioned Draco and Blaise, "walked in on Potter trying to force Ginevra to go with him to Hogsmeade. We're pretty sure he was drunk, but he still handled her pretty roughly." Draco growled in acquiescence.

Ron said nothing, looking down, and Pansy was concerned, but it only lasted a minute before her concern turned into bemusement. "WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS? THAT BLOKE HAS TRIED TO FORCE HIMSELF ON MY BABY SISTER! THAT BLOODY WANKER IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

A few hours later, Pansy was still wondering where Ron had run off to after he had stormed out of her dormitory. Her answer came in the form of Blaise Zabini, who was laughing so hard; his face was turning red from lack of air.

"Blaise, what's going on?"

Blaise managed to choke out, "Weasley...Potter...Hospital Wing... broken nose!" Then he fell to the ground from his fit of laughter.

Pansy paled, worried about Ron, but was quickly reassured when Draco ran up. "Hey Pans," he greeted, but she waved it away.

"What happened to Ron, Draco?"

"Oh, that," Draco said with a grin. "Well, Weasley, bless his muggle-loving heart, decided it wasn't quite right what Potter had done to his sister. So he reciprocated in kind."

Pansy sighed in relief and, after a moment, a wicked smirk wormed its way onto her features. "Reciprocated, you say? And how, exactly, did he ... _reciprocate_?" Draco was less than surprised by her interest; it wasn't unnatural for a Slytherin to be intrigued by the misfortune of others.

"Oh, you could try a broken nose."

"Is that all?" Pansy asked, disappointedly. "I was expecting so much more from this one-"

"A broken nose, two broken ribs, a split lip and a black eye. And not a scratch on him."

"That's my Ron!" Pansy exclaimed gleefully.

… … …

"Oh, Ron," Ginevra chastened at breakfast the next day. "It really wasn't all that serious. You got detention with Filch for a month!"

Ron smiled benignly. "And the look on his face was worth every minute of it." Just then, an owl flew in, dropping a box of Honeydukes finest chocolate directly in front of Ron, along with a parchment. With a quizzical look to Ginevra, he opened the parchment and read, "Congratulations from the Slytherin house!" With pleasure, he saw a rather amusingly drawn picture of Potter in a cast, and that every member of Slytherin house had signed, including Snape.

A/N: **Pia: Yay! I'm back! And, as much as I detest the state of Arizona, I'm glad to be home. I'm sure Jess is happy she doesn't have to do reviews alone again. :-)**_ Jess: Ah, I'm happy you're back from vacation, because that means I'm that mch closer to my own vacation! But in light of all our vacationing, you are guys are getting this chapter early! _**Yes, so be proud because I NEVER put out chapters early … I'm always late. Anywho. I hope all you DG-ers liked the tiny bit of action in this chapter. In really heats up in the next chapter, I promise. **_Heats up... We must be getting really big on understatements recently. _**Well … let's just say that the rating is going up this chapter, in preparation for the next chapter.**_ Yes, and we warned it was going to happen, so no complaints, if you please. On to reviews!_

IssaLee: _Well, we're very happy you reviewed anyway! It was a tad angsty, but eh, that's life._ **Haha, indeed, and besides, this story's all about the angst. Well, angst and ... some other kinky things.** _Yes, kinky things... but that's okay, because who wouldn't want to about kinky things involving Draco?_** My point exactly. But anywho, thanks so much for the review! I hope you liked this chapter; a lot of questions were answered.**_ And more will be next time. Ciao!_

Babykelyse: **Thank you! **_Very much!_

Mione and Ron: _Hi Pia! And the idea of poisoning Harry has merit..._** Hi Jess! waves enthusiastically Yes, that is one of the most amusing and intriguing suggestions we've had, as yet. But, if we did poison Harry … it would be for Draco and Blaise's own sick and twisted enjoyment, rather than Hermione's benefit.** _OOO But her reaction could be lots of fun to write... Ah, well, all in good time!_** Yes, yes, we've got lots of interesting things planned for Harry. grins evilly**

Meadow B: **Yay! I'm glad you like the fluff! There's lots of Pansy/Ron fluff on the way.**_ Oy! Me? Write a chapter without Pia? Perish the thought! I just had to take care of the author's note and reviews by myself, as the two of us have already written ahead several chapters._** Several? Again with the understatements. But really, we do write all of the chapters together. Jess takes care of most of the fluff and I burn the marshmallows. Hehe.**_ Lol indeed. But I will say, I've developed a love for all things Ron! At least when he's not written poorly._** Ah, yes, our lovely Ron.**_ Oh, how can anyone not like Ron? **Thank you for reviewing!**_

Alexandria J. Malfoy: _Yup, Ron is written as a monster in too many stories._** Exactly! Poor Ron. He gets such a bad rap.**_ But Harry and Hermione, they deserve it! Always putting our buddy Ron down. Haha, Ron's Revenge! Or no? ok then..._** Yay for Ron's Revenge:-) But in all seriousness, Ron is going to be really cool for the duration of the story.**_ Exactly. Hope this chapter was up quick enough for you!_** And thank you for your continued support ... did that sound like a commercial, or was it just me?**_ No, no, infomercial, more like. Tune in next time, to see our next free offer!_

BlueBerriRain: **Okay, well first I want to remind you that the garlic won't kill them. It's kinda like 120-degree weather to mortals; really bloody annoying, but it doesn't actually affect your health unless you are exposed to it for too long.**_ Oh, and who the hell would do something like that? Heh heh... yes, I don't know who would be so cruel... What about you, Pia?_** Oh, goodness me! I have absolutely no idea!**_ Heartless, they'd have to be. Absolutely heartless... Er..._** So anywho! Thanks for the review:-)**

The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity: **Well, I'm glad to hear that you like it, even though you insist on being snarky little wench!**_ I'm sorry Pia forces you to review. But it's good to know you like it anyway!_** Yes, yes, I'm a horrible evil person, but I like it that way. And, as I've told you a million times before, Draco gets TWO extra crispy marshmallows in the next chapter, so be patient for just a little bit longer.**_ Indeed, you won't be disappointed._

tonu10167: **_Thanks!_**

Samantha Marie: **Yes, yes, sort of acceptance is the right term. They're not going to be easy on him, by any means.**_ Wouldn't be quite themselves if they were._** Exactly. Oh and kudo points for not freaking out and thinking we're going to kill our Slytherin boys via garlic.**_ Like we would. Thanks for reviewing!_

Serpentofsalazar: _Thank you for suggesting the site, it was very cute!_** Oui, definitely intriguing. And thank you so much for the review!**


	9. 8: Unnatural Urges?

**Chapter 8**

Ginevra checked her watch, smiling slightly when she realized that it was late enough that she could start wandering. She returned all of her books to her bag and propped it up against the corner of the alcove. 'I'm going to invite Ron to come along tomorrow night,' she thought, as she passed a tapestry that depicted the escapades of Barnabas the Barmy.

Ginevra felt a tinge of guilt at the thought of Ron. He'd stuck up for her against Harry, even though what he'd done had been rather drastic. But regardless of what she felt for her brother, she'd been rather wary of being around men. Ever since the incident with Harry, she'd been avoiding them like the plague. It wasn't rational, she knew, but she had only just begun to shake the feeling.

… … …

Draco sat awake that night, as per usual. Blaise was off with one of his recent conquests, and Pansy was asleep. Then he felt as if he was being called again, but this time it was more urgent. It was _her_; it had to be. Standing silently and casting a Disillusionment charm on himself, Draco slipped out of the Slytherin dormitory and began to walk quickly towards the place from where he felt the pulling coming.

It wasn't long before he reached a relatively unused, fifth floor corridor. He crept along the hallway, listening intently, and peaking into the windows of the old classrooms, as he passed. Halfway down, he looked through one of the windows and saw her. She was standing in the front of the classroom, looking out the window. He noticed, absentmindedly, that the window gave a perfect view of the lake.

Draco entered silently, but Ginevra seemed to sense him, turning around immediately. "Who's there?" she called, only a small tinge of fear entering her voice. Draco murmured the words to lift the spell. Ginevra gasped when she saw him, but he saw something else flash across her face as well. Before he could try to decipher what it meant, it was gone.

"Hello, Ginevra," he whispered, trying for all the world to sound cheerful and nonchalant.

"Draco," she responded, nodding ever so slightly. Draco expected her to ask what he was doing there, but she didn't. She simply turned around and continued to look out at the lake.

Stepping up beside her, Draco watched looked at her instead of the lake. He drank in the sight of her, from her curling hair, which had darkened to a deep, blood red and her warm brown eyes, now intent on ignoring his gaze. "Ginevra," he whispered, gently taking her face and turning it to his.

Ginevra turned, albeit reluctantly, to face him. She'd been ignoring him, just as she'd been ignoring and avoiding all of the men she'd come in contact with in the past week. Harry's behaviour had truly disturbed her. But, as she studied his face, she realized that she didn't feel the expected unease that she'd felt around all other males. Instead she just felt ... she couldn't quite put her finger on what the feeling was.

Draco seemed to lean in closer, and Ginevra inwardly panicked. "Uh," she said moving quickly away. "Draco, I don't know..." It never occurred to her that she was using his first name.

"Ginevra," Draco said seriously, moving forward again so that she was pressed against the wall. He leaned forward until his lips were almost brushing her ear and whispered lightly, "I do know."

Ginevra looked up into Draco's gray eyes, dark with desire. Suddenly, she felt the most alarming need to possess him, to be possessed by him, and all rational thought fled as she lunged forward and captured his lips with her own. He groaned, kissing her back just as fiercely, forcing her to wrap her legs around him or lose her balance. Her body was crushed to his, and anticipation had made every area where they touched seem full of electricity. Ginevra felt his tongue brush against the seam of her lips, and she opened for him willingly, and then moaned in ecstasy. Overcome by her senses, she bit down lightly and the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. His blood. Ginevra froze upon tasting Draco's blood, but it only seemed to ignite him further, and now he deepened the kiss, tilting her head with his hand to give himself fuller access. Ginevra couldn't think anymore, she could only feel, and she began to slide his Slytherin robes off of his muscled shoulders. Desperate to feel more of him, she pulled his shirt up from the waistband of his pants and ran her hands over his flat stomach. Just as Draco's hands slid underneath Ginevra's shirt, making both of them moan at the contact, a loud crash sounded from somewhere down the corridor. They both froze, pulling away, and tried not to breathe.

"Ickle students out of bed!" came the unmistakable voice of Peeves the Poltergeist. Ginevra opened her mouth to say something, but Draco pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head slightly. Letting her legs drop from around his waist, Draco pulled her over to the front corner of the room. He positioned her in the corner before standing directly in front of her, his entire body covering hers. Then, just as Peeves floated into the room, having noticed the open door, Draco used his powers to melt into the shadows, making Ginevra just as invisible as he was. Peeves looked around for a moment, upended a few desks, before flying back out of the room, looking rather miffed that he hadn't caught anyone.

Draco and Ginevra were still face-to-face, breathing heavily from excitement and anxiousness. Ginevra looked up at Draco expectantly, her eyes bright, but he only shook his head. "We were almost caught," he murmured, not moving away from her. "And I won't have you hurt in any way." Ginevra shivered agreeably at the fierce protection in his voice, not stopping to wonder from where it had spawned. "Tomorrow, Ginevra," Draco whispered. He pushed away as if to leave, then looked as if he just remembered something. "And if Potter bothers you-"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that anymore, after what Ron did," Ginevra said lightly.

"Even so," Draco responded evenly. "If he touches you at all again, and I find out, he will die." Ginevra was unsurprised by this; for some reason, she had expected no less. One question still niggled at the back of her mind, however.

"Why, Draco?"

"Because," he said before crushing his lips to hers in a quick movement, swallowing her gasp of surprise. He didn't let it go on, only lifted his head and smiled down at her swollen lips. "You're mine, Ginevra."

… … …

"Ron! Wait up!" Ron whirled around to see Ginny running down the girls' dormitory stairs. He was happily surprised to note that she was smiling. He hadn't seen much of her the past week; apparently, the incident with Harry had shaken her more than anyone wanted to admit. But then, all of the Gryffindors had refused to talk to him, so he didn't really know how they were reacting to Ginny's sudden scarcity.

"Hey, Gin! I was just about to go down to breakfast."

"I know, can I talk to you first?"

"Yeah, sure. How about we take the long way downstairs?" Ginny smiled again and nodded, before leading Ron out of the portrait hole.

Ginevra took a deep breath, surreptitiously checking to be sure no one else was around. "Ron, I'm really sorry about this past week. I know it must seem like I've been avoiding you, and that's not completely true... What Harry did just really shook me up, you know?"

"Has he been bothering you again?" Ron asked darkly.

"Of course not, Ron," Ginevra replied absently. "He's still in the hospital wing, even though I overheard Hermione mention he'd be getting out this morning." Ron still looked worried, and Ginevra tried to explain her reasoning further, in order to placate him. "Ron, you have to understand how it feels to have a man actually try to hurt you," Ginevra stopped as she saw the quizzical look on his face. "Well, not a man for you..."

Ron looked at her, clearly trying to understand what she was trying to say. "I ... you're just not making sense, Gin."

"I know, I ..." Ginny sighed heavily. "Just suffice it to say that I've been avoiding anything with a dick as if it were the plague. I don't know how to explain why ... but it's got nothing to do with you, I promise."

Ron chuckled slightly and looked satisfied with Ginny's answer. "Good to know, Gin. I'm just glad you're not avoiding me anymore." He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Suddenly, he stopped walking and his expression turned dark.

"Ron?"

"I'm sorry I let that happen, Ginny ... it never should have."

"Ron," Ginny said, walking over to him. "You can't protect me all the time." She had to bite back the thought that bubbled to the front of her mind about Draco. Who knew if he was even being truthful? Deep down, though, she knew she was just lying to herself to postpone the inevitable.

"I should have protected you, Gin. I should be able to protect you all the time..." Ron sighed and raked his hands through his crimson hair. He looked rather old, all of a sudden. His face seemed much too careworn to belong to a seventeen year-old boy, but then, with everything that had happened during the war, Ginny couldn't say she was surprised. Ginny shook her head as they started walking again. The two walked in silence for a long while, and Ginny knew Ron was still beating himself up for not stopping Harry. She just couldn't get through to him! Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. Maybe, if he wouldn't listen to her, he would listen to...

… … …

"So, Draco," Pansy chirped pleasantly as the three Slytherins made their way to breakfast. "How did you sleep last night?" She smiled knowingly at Draco, from behind Blaise's back.

Draco was a bit taken aback. "Er... yes... well... uneventfully?"

Blaise cast him an odd look. "Obviously not too well there, mate. I, on the other hand, had a great time with Stacey. I didn't even think it was physically possible to-" Here Draco quickly covered his ears, while Pansy grimaced and did the same. Sometimes, Blaise went into a bit too much detail.

… … …

Ron managed to keep sulking through all of breakfast, where Hermione was thankfully not present. Ginevra was a bit miffed that he was taking all the blame when it didn't even concern him, and she hoped he would snap out of it soon.

On the way back from breakfast, they headed back to the common room, Ron trudging along beside her. Suddenly, Ginevra heard voices coming from around the corner. "Hermione, I can walk, it's fine."

"Harry, just lean on me, I don't want you to get hurt more." Ginevra panicked, looking around for a place to hide while Ron bristled. She slid behind the corner they had just come from just as Hermione and Harry turned the corner and saw Ron.

Harry and Hermione only hesitated a moment before marching straight up to Ron, both looking murderous. Ron couldn't help but find Harry's appearance amusing; he was still looking a bit worse for the wear, but was trying his best to seem intimidating, not an easy task when you're practically being carried by a girl. Nonetheless, Ron contained his amused smirk and regarded both of his 'friends' with cold looks.

"Ronald," Hermione said in an icy, clipped tone.

"Hermione, Harry." Ron's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Let's go back to the Common Room and discuss things."

"We've nothing to discuss, Hermione."

Hermione scowled, gesturing to Harry. "You call this nothing?"

"As a matter of fact," Ron leered, "I call it less than nothing."

"Ron! You beat up your best friend!"

"No," Ron said, his voice sending involuntary shivers of fear up Hermione's spine. "I kicked the shit out of the man who dared lay his hands on my sister." Hermione gaped, while Harry looked slightly sheepish.

Hermione wheeled around to face Harry. "Why were you going after Ginny?"

"Err... Mione, you know how it is..."

"No, as a matter a fact I don't!" Ron smirked to himself, thanking Merlin for their frequent arguments.

Slipping away, he turned to get Ginevra. "C'mon, Gin, while they're still at it," Ron whispered out of the corner of his mouth as he passed Ginevra's hiding spot. He didn't fail to notice the satisfied smirk that overcame her delicate features. Nor did he fail to notice the twinge of fear still present in her big brown eyes.

… … …

"Today would have been the perfect day for a Quidditch match ... I don't suppose you'd like to go flying?" Ron gave Pansy a hopeful smile, but she just laughed.

"Ron, you know I don't fly. I'm afraid of heights." They were walking around the lake, at a leisurely pace, enjoying one of the last warm days of fall.

"Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" Pansy giggled when Ron pulled her close, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sure Ron, whatever you say ... hey, I'll make you a deal. If we just stick to a nice walk about the grounds, today, we can go flying next weekend."

"Sounds lovely, m'dear."

Pansy twined her fingers with his, trying to decide best how to approach the subject. Ginevra had come to her just after breakfast that day and told her about Ron's unnecessarily guilty conscience. To Ron's credit, he was hiding it fairly well, but Pansy could still see the troubled tinge in his eyes.

Pansy chose a grassy spot near the lake, sitting down and pulling Ron. "Ron, c'mere." He obliged, and she moved behind him, gently massaging his neck and shoulders. When she felt him begin to relax, she carefully asked, "Ron, what's wrong? You seem tense." Ron murmured something incomprehensible, and Pansy applied a bit more pressure, eliciting a moan. "What was that?" she whispered, leaning close.

Ron sighed, and then stilled her hands. "You know what happened to Gin, right?" Pansy nodded as he continued his explanation. So Ginevra was right, Ron did feel guilty. "I'm just ... do you know what I was doing? When Potter went after her?" Before Pansy could get a word in, Ron continued, "I was playing Exploding Snap with Dean and Seamus! A game, Pansy! While my baby sister was being fucking assaulted, I was playing a god damned game!"

"Ronald Billius Weasley!" Ron whirled around to face Pansy at hearing the affronted tone in her voice. "How dare you even consider blaming yourself for this! The only person who is at fault in this entire situation is Harry bloody Potter! And he's just an ass, so what can we expect from him?"

"Pansy, I--"

"No! I don't want your excuses, Ronald! You will stop blaming yourself for what happened right this instant! I won't tolerate your sulking for another moment!" Ron gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't planning on arguing with her, and Pansy calmed down considerably. Moments later, a smile reappeared on her face. "You know, regardless of my feelings for you, you really can be a great prat, sometimes. Do you know that?"

"Humpf! So Ginny tells me."

Pansy laughed. "And so she was right." Ron pouted, and Pansy was overcome with how young he looked when he did that. With another laugh, she leaned forward to kiss the frown off his lips, and then yelped in playful surprise as he quickly grabbed her around the waist and flipped her over so he rested on his arms above her.

"I'm not really a prat, you know," Ron said seriously, then ruined the effect by blowing lightly in her ear, making her giggle and squirm. "I think you should take that back."

Pansy grinned up at him. "And if I don't?" Ron leaned down, kissing her with a passion that he'd never used before. It was as if he were pouring his heart into that one kiss, and when he drew away, she was left breathless. "I take it back," she whispered.

"I thought you might," said Ron with a small smile.

… … …

"Hello, Draco. Fancy meeting you here," Ginevra said with a small smile as she entered the room.

"Indeed," Draco said, standing and wrapping his arms around her.

"Ah, ah, ah," she wagged her finger at him, pulling away. "Haven't you learned your lesson? We almost got caught last night."

Draco pouted a bit, causing Ginevra to smile. "What if I'd rather just risk it again?"

"I'd rather you risk it when we were a bit more ... comfortable? Abandoned classrooms and dusty desks aren't really my style."

Draco stepped away. "What's really wrong, Ginevra?"

"I thought you might be able to tell me that," she responded, almost timidly.

Draco looked at Ginevra curiously. "Are you talking about," he gestured between them, "us?"

"No, Draco. I'm talking about the strange solar patterns of Mars. Yes, I'm talking about us, you nitwit!"

Far from being offended, Draco thought it was almost cute how irate she was. Nuzzling up to her neck, he whispered softly, "I see no problem."

"You mean, besides the fact that I have the unnatural urge to shag you completely senseless? Oh no, besides that, there's no problem." Ginevra tried to sound annoyed and harsh, but Draco's attention to her neck seemed to be preventing this.

"Do you now?" he asked with a wicked smile. "Then why are we talking?" With that, he crushed his lips to hers, preventing any further speech on her part. When Ginevra's muffled protests seemed to be getting ignored, she turned and slipped out of Draco's grasp before he could react. Draco frowned, moving forward again to grab for Ginevra.

"Draco, stop." Ginevra took a deep breath; it was taking every ounce of will power she had not to let him ravish her, right then and there. A fact that, admittedly, frightened her just a bit.

Draco reluctantly moved back, eyeing Ginevra warily. "You know this must be."

"But why! Where did all of this come from!" Ginevra turned away from him, crossing her arms across her chest as she tried to even out her breathing.

Draco walked behind Ginevra, wrapping his arms around her waist. She trembled in the circle of his hands as Draco whispered, "We may not know what this is, but don't you think we should just go with where it's leading us now?"

"Will you do something for me?" Ginevra asked as she turned around in Draco's arms to face him, wrapping her own arms around his neck. Draco looked down at her curiously, raising an eyebrow. "Ask Pansy. She doesn't seem to be alarmed by this, like Blaise was. Maybe she'll know what it is?" Ginevra started to run her hands through his hair.

"Sure," Draco muttered, leaning forward to capture her lips again. "Later."

A/N: **Hello! I hope all you DG shippers are happy with this chapter and Draco finally getting the action he so deserves! You will notice that the rating has gone up, specifically for this chapter and some following chapters that really do push the limit as far as "T" goes. Anywho, Jess is on vacation, so I'll be answering reviews myself this time. The next chapter will be up around Wednesday, depending on how much homework I have. Yes, that's right, I'm back in school. :cries: So make us both very happy by dropping a review!**

The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity – **lol. Well I suppose that's an interesting idea (the garlic making them high, I mean). But no, they were just … acting strangely. It will make more sense later. Are you happy! Draco finally got some action:sulks: And like I told you before, the thing with Pansy is SUPPOSED to be unclear. It will come out more in later chapters. Thanks a bunch!**

Meadow B – **I hope this update was fast enough for you! And thanks! I'm glad to be back, even if it does mean starting school! No, Harry's definitely not cool and he's going to get a lot less cool as this goes on. But don't worry; he'll get what's coming to him. Hehe. Ouch! I'm sorry to hear about the wisdom teeth, but I think Draco and Blaise just make you drool, regardless. lol. I hope you liked the DG crispy marshmallows in this chapter!**

Babykelyse – **Mwahahahaha! The plan is working! lol. But in all seriousness, thanks a bunch! I hope you liked this chapter!**

Dana6 – **I agree; the good DG fics are in short supply. I'm flattered that you've put our story into that category!**

Girl Without a Life – **Awe, we could never kill our Slytherin boys (as we've taken to calling them). But the garlic wouldn't have killed them anyways, like we said. Regardless, thanks for the review!**

BlueBerriRain – **It's exactly like that. I've likened the garlic to 120 degree weather; I live in AZ, so it's definitely the bane of my existence at this point. Yes, and Ginny's not the kind to be all fluffy bunnies and daisies anyways … well, not OUR Ginny at least. Thanks!**

IssaLee – **lol. Well we did promise a cool Ron. :-) And credit for the Slytherin gift goes entirely to Jess! But don't worry; they're not going to be all fluffy bunnies and daisies after this chapter. Draco and Ginny still have a lot of issues to work out, so look forward to a lot more fluff-filled animosity. Or rather, crispy marshmallows.**

SilverandSilent – **Thank you so much!**

Bungle-in-the-Jungle – **Oui, Draco is definitely obsessed. That's going to become a bit clearer in coming chapters. Blaise isn't … shady, per se. All I can really do is promise that he gets better, gets his own sub-plot, and absolutely does have reasons for acting the way he is. We'll get a good look at his psyche in chapter 10, so hopefully it will be clearer then. Yes, Pansy is what keeps them grounded, so to speak. And Ron doesn't have respect so much as tolerance, but he'll get the former eventually. Thanks a bunch!**

Padfoot 4 Life – **lol! Yes, we had LOTS of fun deciding what Ron was going to do to Harry. And, trust me, that is NOT the end of Harry's pain, by any means. Yes, poor Ron and Pansy; they keep getting interrupted. As for things "heating up" … well, Ron and Pansy are definitely going to get some more fluff and even a bit of M stuff as we go further (that's a few chapters away, btw). But most of the stuff on them will be looking at their relationship from a less physical level. Draco and Ginny, on the other hand … well, once all their issues get worked out, you can be sure that we'll have some marshmallow-y goodness for you! Yes, Blaise is rather annoying in that he keeps interrupting, but I think you'll start to like his character more in coming chapters. He'll get his own sub-plot eventually, but right now, there's just too much going on for us to add more stuff to the pile. Thanks!**

**Yay! 59 reviews! Thanks to everyone! Even you ghost readers:-)**


	10. 9: Shocking Revelations

_**  
This chapter is dedicated to BlueBerriRain! Happy birthday! We've decided to sing, just for you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday BlueBerriRain! Happy birthday to you!**_

**Chapter 9  
**

"Oh Harry, however did you stop Ron, Draco, and Blaise all together?"

"Well, it was hard. I kept warning them I didn't want to fight them," Harry said smugly as Hermione preened beside him. He had gotten out of the Hospital Wing only yesterday, but already had begun giving his fans the 'real' version of what had happened. "Of course," he continued, "being Slytherins, they didn't want to listen. They were just looking for a fight." Several of the Gryffindors before him nodded emphatically in agreement, never for once believing that the great Harry Potter could tell anything but the absolute truth.

Ginevra walked down the stairs, still tired from her previous late night. She listened to Potter's version of events for a minute, and then smiled. He would really make a fabulous storyteller. After all, Lockheart did well doing just that.

… … …

Draco didn't even bother to knock as he wrenched the door of Pansy's dormitory open. "I need to talk to you, now." Pansy was stretched out on the couch, reading, as per usual, and looked rather affronted at having Draco storm into her room, unannounced.

"Well, I would think it's pretty clear that I'm previously engaged-"

"Pans," Draco interrupted. "What's happening to me?"

"What makes you think I know?"

Draco gestured helplessly. "I know you're an Empath, Pans. You can't tell me you don't know anything about me and Ginevra."

Pansy watched him for a moment, debating between helping him and ordering him out of her room. But, at seeing the confused, desperate look on Draco's face, she couldn't have possibly thrown him out. "C'mon, sit down. This is going to take a while." Draco sat down next to Pansy on the couch, looking tenser than she had ever seen him. "Draco, relax. This is a good thing, I promise." He did relax slightly, but it was still quite obvious that he was on edge. Pansy smiled slightly; he was only solidifying her suspicions. "Okay, so you know that, in the Wizarding World, lots of things happen at a wizard's maturity, 17."

"Yes, Pansy," he answered, somewhat impatiently.

"Well supernatural beings such as yourself, are no exception. However, when a vampyre reaches his or her maturity, they don't inherit anything. Instead, they become aware of their ... mate. There are a lot of ways this awareness can manifest itself, but the most common is an overwhelming desire to be around the person, blind trust, an insatiable sexual appetite." Pansy smirked, at this; she'd been hearing an increased number of rumors regarding the Slytherin Sex God, as of late. "And, unless a vampyre is looking for these symptoms, they're hard to recognize."

Draco furrowed his brow. "So, Ginevra Weasley is my _mate_? But she's not even a vampyre!"

"It doesn't matter," Pansy informed him, in a matter of fact tone. "If she was destined to be your mate, she would be, regardless of whether she's vamp or mortal."

"So ... what do I do now?"

Pansy's smirk fell when she remembered the final piece of information she had yet to impart to him. "You need to enter a purely consensual relationship with her ... if you don't ... you'll go insane, and I mean that quite literally. Eventually, with enough time apart, you _could_ die."

"Wouldn't it just be understood … entering a relationship, I mean?"  
"Not necessarily. It's not all that uncommon for a vampyre's mate to refuse all contact with them. Even if the mate is willing to uphold a relationship, that doesn't really guarantee anything."

"This has happened before?" Draco asked hoarsely.

"Yes, if the mate of a vampyre does not wish to be a vampyre themselves. Eventually, the mortal mate will die and the vampyre will slowly deteriorate without them. It's only a matter of time before they go insane. Those with strong wills have been able to live until the physical pain associated with being separated from their mate for years kills them. Most, however, have simply committed suicide."

"But Ginevra seems to welcome my advances."

Pansy looked at Draco quizzically. "For no apparent reason?"

"Yes, in fact. We had an ... argument of sorts regarding it last night. She wants to know why she ... how did she put it ... oh yes, 'has the unnatural urge to shag me senseless'." Draco couldn't hide the fact that he was rather pleased with himself.

Pansy looked a bit surprised by this. "Did she say that?"

"Yes..." Draco answered slowly. Pansy was giving him the strangest of looks. "What's wrong?" Draco asked impatiently.

Pansy looked for a minute like she was having an internal debate, but then she smiled. "Nothing. So, do you plan on telling Ginevra?"

Draco scoffed. "Oh, yeah, that's great, Pans. I'm just going to walk up to her and say 'hey, Ginevra, you're my mate, so lets shag like bunnies!' I'm sure that will go over _really_ well."

Pansy chortled a bit at the mental image this conveyed, then sobered at Draco's exasperated stare. "Well, you could leave out the mate part. She might be up for just the shagging."

"Pansy!" Draco whined. "You're not helping!" His expression suddenly changed to one reminiscent of a spoiled child that hadn't gotten his way. "Besides, I already asked. She wants to know why."

Pansy smiled benignly at Draco and picked up her book again. She walked back over to her usual seat, Draco seeming to be in pain as she did so. "I guess you'll just have to figure it out then," Pansy said sweetly, returning to her book.

… … …

Pansy giggled when Ron blew on the back of her neck, but it was a half-hearted giggle. She knew he was trying to make her feel better, however, nothing was going to quench the nervousness she was feeling. She simply did not like flying; she preferred to remain firmly on the ground. But regardless, she'd promised Ron.

It had been just under a week since her conversation with Draco and, as far as she knew, he hadn't seen Ginevra since. He had, however, done quite a bit of sulking. She knew it was only a matter of time before he'd break down and go see her. She only hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid when he finally did.

Ron slung his arm around Pansy's shoulders as they walked, grasping their two broomsticks in his other hand. Pansy found his impeccable manners especially endearing, and not in a caveman sort of way. As they passed the lake, two seventh year Gryffindors, Dean and Seamus, seemed to affect sudden interest in them.

The two Gryffindors stood up and started towards Ron and Pansy, both grinning maliciously – or as maliciously as a Gryffindor could grin, anyways. "Nice day for a stroll, ain't it, Ron?" came Seamus' distinctive voice as soon as they were within hearing distance. Pansy didn't notice the muscle in Ron's jaw begin to tick, but she did feel how he tensed up next to her, clenching the brooms more tightly in his hand.

Pansy said nothing, either to the Gryffindors or Ron, just silently filed away his reaction for a later time. They needed to discuss this.

… … …

"Ron, not so high!" Pansy yelled back at Ron. They were currently on Ron's broom, several feet off the ground, and Pansy was terrified, even though Ron was holding on to her tightly in the circle of his arms.

"Relax," he whispered soothingly. "I won't let you fall." Pansy seemed to relax minutely, but put her hands over his, which were holding on to the broom.

After a while, Pansy started to relax; she did trust Ron not to let her fall and they weren't _that_ far off the ground. Pansy looked down to try and judge how far up they were, and immediately wished she hadn't. "Pans?" Ron asked softly, at feeling her tense up suddenly.

Pansy smiled shakily, unconsciously tightening her grip on his hands. "I've never actually gone this high on a broom before," she confided in a whisper.

Ron laughed softly next to her ear. "Trust me, Pansy."

"I do, its just ..." Pansy took a deep breath and tried not to think about what would happen if she fell off the broom at this point.

Ron grinned, then tightened his hold around her. "Hold on."

Pansy's cry of, "To what!" was lost as Ron executed a barrel roll, flipping the broom neatly upside down and then looping widely before settling in their previous upright position. "Oh my god," Pansy breathed. "That was amazing!" Ron grinned; he had expected her to be a tad angry.

… … …

"You're going to be just fine, I promise." Ron smiled reassuringly and Pansy tried to return the smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. It didn't take long for Pansy to get more comfortable, flying with Ron. After all, if they'd gone completely upside down and she hadn't fallen off, there wasn't much chance she was going to fall off. But that logic didn't apply when she was on her own broom, without Ron holding her tightly around the waist.

Pansy leaned forward on her broom gently, and it responded lightly. Hearing Ron's encouragement, she leaned forward a bit more, and then whooped in surprise as she began to slowly rise. She stayed at a safe height, and then tried slowly moving around and getting a feel for the broom. Ron swooped his broom effortlessly around her, reminding her of a small kitten hankering for attention. That brought a smile to her face, and she tentatively rose even higher. "Excellent, Pans!" Ron exulted, spinning his broom to come face to face with her. "You're doing great!"

"Hey, Ron," Pansy asked lightly. "About those two other Gryffs, didn't you- Aagh!" Pansy yelped as her broom jumped ten feet higher in the air, but Ron rose after her.

"It's ok," he soothed. "You might have just kicked your foot a bit." Pansy nodded slowly, but then Ron seemed to be pushed away by some unseen force. "Hey!" he objected as he was tossed backwards, managing to stay on his broom. Pansy looked at him in fear, then gasped as her broom jumped again.

"I knew this wasn't a good idea," she whispered to herself, clutching her broom. "Ron!"

"Pans, just hold on!" he yelled with a frown, jiggling his seemingly incompetent broom.

"Oh god," Pansy murmured as she stared aghast at the ground far below her. The broom was continuing to rise, and Ron, no matter how hard he tried, didn't seem to be getting any closer. Her broom began to buck wildly, and Pansy held on for dear life. 'I'm going to die,' she thought. 'Just like this.' Her broom bucked again, tossing her off. She grabbed for her broom, snagging it with one hand as Ron strained to get closer below her. Pansy attempted to pull herself back up, but her broom began to vibrate in her hand, loosening her grip. With a final shriek, she dropped and began to fall to the earth far below her.

… … …

Ron was furious with himself for, ever bringing Pansy out here. If she got hurt because of him... He shook his head to clear the image, redoubling his efforts to get closer to Pansy. "Ron!" she called to him as he tried to control his broom, getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"Oh, god, Pans jus hold on!" he yelled, but his voice was lost in the howling wind. He gasped as he saw her thrown off her broom, then dangling from it by one hand. 'Pull yourself back up,' he prayed. 'For the love of Merlin...' When he saw her fall, something snapped inside of him. He suddenly found it hard to breathe as power bloomed around him, and his broom glowed briefly before settling back into its normal colour. Suddenly, he felt back in control, and he shot forward towards the falling figure. 'Don't let it be too late,' he prayed. He flattened himself against his broom, willing it to move quicker. 'Faster,' he muttered, intent on the figure, which was now nearing the ground at an alarming speed. With a final burst, he shot forward reaching for her with both arms and only holding on to the broom with his legs. For one small moment, time stood still as he was unsure if he was close enough, but then she fell into his arms hard, her momentum overbalancing him and knocking them both from his broom. He twisted in the air, taking the brunt of the fall himself as he checked her over for harm. She stared up at him, eyes still wide with shock. "Oh my god, Pansy," he said roughly. "I thought... I thought that..." Whatever it was he thought was forgotten as he clutched her to him, kissing her all over her face and ignoring his own wounds.

Pansy responded immediately, and they came up for air several times before they were broken apart by the sound of Pansy's broom hitting the ground scant feet from them. "What was that?" Pansy whispered, pressing closer to Ron. Ron pressed his lips to the top of her head, saying nothing.

A/N: _Jess: It's MEEEEE! I have returned from the dark side... Well, sort of..._** Pia: Yes! I'm no longer a lone author:does a little jig:**_ And don't you just love both of us for not sticking to an update schedule and cranking out the chapters early?_** Hopefully it will continue in such a fashion, as I'm notorious for updating late. :looks sheepish:**_ Just for my own amusement... We got a... request, as it were, not to insult J.K. Rowling by writing Harry as such a carefree person..._** First of all, I'd like to say that I'm highly insulted that anyone would think we didn't have a purpose for writing the characters as we do. There's a lot of stuff about the war that hasn't been revealed yet. So, until it does, I'd thank you all to keep your fat traps shut!**_ Indeed. Secondly, I would like everyone to go back to the first chapter, prologue really, and tell us what we said in the author's note. Everyone see it? We warned you Harry would not be written with love, and informed everyone not to flame us on it, because we truly don't care. Really. So if you adore Harry, or Hermione rocks your socks or whatever, leave. Just go. Exit from this page, and never come back._** We really don't mean to be harsh … well, yes we do. The only thing I can really say about the entire thing is that there is a reason for ALL of the characterizations in this story. If you don't like it enough to stick it out until everything's been revealed then … well, I suppose this is the part where I'm supposed to care, huh Jess?**_ Sure it is, but not going to happen. So, all the rest of you can kindly pack up all your Harry-loving, Us-hating asses, and hit the road. Preferably with your head or another crucial piece of anatomy._** But remember! Have a nice day! … so anywho, done with the rant. Hopefully this chapter answered a lot of questions.**_ Yes, and drama! Drama is good._** Yay drama! Thanks to everyone for helping us get to 71 reviews! Yay:does the happy dance:**_ We seriously do heart everyone who left us helpful reviews. Keep em coming!_

Babykelyse: **Yes! Another convert to the Ron/Pansy ways! Lots of drama for them here, eh?**_ It is excellent to know you've started to dislike Harry, or else you would've started to dislike our story, and that would be horrible!_** Indeed it would be! Not very much DG for a bit, but lots of Ron/Pansy drama:)**

Meadow B: _Yes, school can be a pothole on the road of the fanfiction. And Blaise and Draco are most definitely drool-worthy._** And the understatements abound! But I love the metaphor there. Ya, Blaise is kind of a play-boy, but we wouldn't have him any other way!**_ Oh, hell no... It's really flattering that you think our fic is considered "up there" as it were._** Indeed! _Thanks so much!_**

Bungle-in-the-Jungle: **Yes, we promise that there will be more than 10 chapters, a lot more actually. We've written to 14 and still have a LONG way to go! Hopefully everyone will still be interested!**_ And rest assured, we love Blaise. We could never leave him out of the picture for long. Hopefully, we can be just a tad more discreet than an anvil, but the idea has merit... Hmm..._** :looks interested: Hmm, indeed. So anywho, Pansy and Ron had a little moment here and they'll have lots of drama in the next chapter.**_ Because they really are just made for drama. It is a bit depressing about Ginevra, but she'll get over it. Really._

BlueBerriRain: _Well, I'm not in school, just poor Pia. I have two weeks :snickers: yes, and happy early b-day!_** Indeed! Happy b-day and poor Pia!**_ Consider this chapter our gift... Sorta kinda._** Yes, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have an awesome b-day!**

IssaLee: **Yay! I'm glad you liked it so much! And quite right; Ron is definitely dashing!**_ And we just love D/G... the kiss scene was tres fun to write!_** Ah, indeed! Aren't you all just rooting for them to get it over with and shag already! We definitely are … :sighs:**_ Yes, I think we all have a Blaise in our lives... We can only hope he doesn't drive us nuts..._** But then again, I'd prefer Blaise driving me nuts to like … say, Harry. :shudders:**_ Gah... Let's not get into that. Until next time!_

Samantha Marie: **Ya! Wasn't the DG just horribly creepy! In such a fluffy way! It was awesome to write!**_ Oh, and we love Ron beating up Harry too. A bit too much, actually._** Which is why we're pretty sure its going to be a repeat occurrence … er … I mean … **_:laughs nervously: Moving on... Thanks for reviewing!_

darklight989: _It's a deal, m'dear. And it's great to know you like our story so much!_** Indeed! I am so flattered! We will definitely keep updating, maybe even on a schedule thing …**

Buny: **lol. Well cliff-hangers are one of my favorite things, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of them!**_ And our updates should be more regular, so no worries. Thanks for reviewing!_

Serpentofsalazar: **_Thanks so much! Hope you liked this chapter!_**

Aurora – Ro: _You know, Pia, I'll never get sick of hearing that. Music to my ears._** Indeed! I'm definitely a review-whore! Thank you so much! We're flattered!**

cool rokker farie jammeer: **Wow! I'm so flattered!**_ Ditto. There are two of us (Hopefully) so we have two minds going... or at least one and a half_** Well, that actually depends on what day it is, but regardless, thanks so much!**

**_Diclaimer: Not ours!_  
**


	11. 10: My Little Malfoy Puddle

_**A/N: Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter.**_

**Chapter 10**_**  
**_

"Ron? Is everything okay?" Pansy tugged on his hand, which was entwined with hers, giving him a worried look.

"No ... nothing is bloody okay!" he answered finally, when they had arrived in Pansy's dormitory.

Pansy looked at Ron quizzically. "Ron, I'm fine now," she said patronizingly.

"That's not the point and you know it, Pansy," Ron growled.

Pansy sighed. All this guilt couldn't be good for anyone. Ron had enough to worry about without adding her. "I never should have asked you to go flying! I never should have let you get on a broom by yourself! God damn this fucking day!" He raked his hands through his hair and refused to meet Pansy's eyes.

Pansy looked at Ron as if he'd gone mad. "Did you jinx my broom?"

Ron stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Of course not."

"Oh," Pansy continued, getting progressively angrier at his foolishness. "I suppose you dragged me down to the pitch, then?"

"It doesn't matter! I asked you to come! I knew you'd come if I asked you!"

"Ron! It was my decision to go flying! I trusted that I would be safe, and I am! Look!" Pansy held out her arms for emphasis. "Not a scratch on me! I don't know why you're getting yourself so worked up over nothing!"

Ron grabbed her outstretched hands. "Pansy," he said slowly, willing her to listen to him. "I could have lost you today."

Pansy just smiled up at Ron. "Ron, you have to understand something. Every minute that goes by is another chance you could lose someone. Anything could happen, but you need to stop living by the 'what ifs' and start worrying about what is. And what is, right now, is a girl whose life you just saved, not endangered, standing before you. If you only do one more thing for me for all the time we know each other, stop feeling guilty for everything."

Ron stared at her, helplessly, for a few moments, and Pansy knew he was having an internal battle. He reached up to touch her cheek and Pansy caught his hand in her own, holding it there. She smiled tentatively at him, a smile that Ron did not return. "Please," Pansy said softly. "For me?"

Ron finally sighed, drawing her into his arms. "I'll try," he said, lips against her hair. "For you, I'll try." They shared a quick kiss, interrupted by someone emerging from the common room before them.

"Pansy, I need ..." Draco trailed off when he realized that Pansy was not alone. "Sorry," he muttered distractedly. For a moment, he seemed to be considering something, before continuing, "Pansy, I need to talk to you."

Pansy nodded and turned back to Ron. "I'll be right back." Ron smiled a half-smile and released her. Pansy led Draco into his dormitory, where she sat down on the couch and gave him a worried expression. To say he wasn't looking well would have been an extreme understatement. His skin had a grey tinge to it, his hair was limp, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept well in a while. Which, now that Pansy thought about it, was probably true.

"You've been avoiding her, haven't you?" Pansy asked Draco softly.

He looked up at her hopelessly. "I don't know how to tell her so she'll understand..."

"This isn't healthy, Draco. You're making yourself sick over what might be nothing. Have you even considered the possibility that she _will_ understand?" Pansy squeezed his hand, trying to be reassuring, even though she didn't completely believe her own words. Draco looked at her again, and his eyes seemed almost sunken. "Trust me, Draco," she said gently, wincing as she echoed Ron's earlier words. _Trust me, Pans._

Pansy was brought back to earth by Draco's tired voice. "All right, Pans. I'll try it."

… … …

"Have some more roast beef, Gin. You'll like it; it's almost as good as Mum's." Ginevra nodded and took the piece of beef her brother was offering her. She made a sad attempt at a smile; while she was glad that Ron seemed to be in a very good mood, she couldn't ignore the fact that she was not. To be honest, she hadn't been in a good mood for nearly a week. Despite her attempts to convince herself that it had nothing to do with Draco, she knew it stemmed from the fact that he'd been avoiding her.

"Mmm," she muttered, trying to look as if she was enjoying the meat. "It's very good." Ron beamed and returned to scarfing his own meal, leaving Ginevra to continue wallowing in self-pity. She briefly considered telling Ron what was going on, but immediately decided against it. Not only did she not want to ruin his mood, she didn't think he would be particularly receptive to hearing that his baby sister was lusting after Draco Malfoy – or anyone for that matter.

Just as she was trying to figure out a way to forget about Draco all together, an owl arrived at the table, nearly knocking Ron's goblet over. Ginevra half-heartedly tugged the rolled parchment out of the owl's beak. She saw Hermione and Harry giving her strange looks from halfway down the table. She scowled back at them; just because she didn't receive letters very often, didn't mean they had to gape when she did.

Opening the parchment, Ginevra read the words, _Meet me by the Room of Requirement, 11:00 tonight._ It was signed DM, and Ginevra flipped it over, looking for something else, but it was otherwise blank. She liked to think that she considered he invitation – demand, really – for a few moments, before, reluctantly, deciding to go. But, if she were to be completely honest with herself, she knew she'd made a decision when she first realized whom it was from. Suddenly losing her appetite, she muttered something to Ron about being tired, then walked away, sneering at Harry and Hermione as she went.

… … …

Blaise had put up with a distant Draco all through dinner, and Pansy was almost as bad. Actually, they'd been like this for over a week, and it was most unsettling and annoying. He truly couldn't decide who was worse; Draco with his brooding, or Pansy, who wasn't brooding, exactly, but was certainly quieter than she'd ever been. It wasn't a surprise to Blaise that Pansy talked when she felt she needed to fill the silence, when her thoughts were too overwhelming to be left alone with. Since the war, she'd been much more quiet, but constant silence was starting to unnerve him.

He also left dinner early, giving Draco and Pansy some excuse that he wasn't even sure they heard. As he stormed off, barely able to control his annoyance, he nearly ran into the little Weasley girl, Ginevra. He stared at her for a minute, noticing she looked as haggard as Draco did. With a scowl, he pushed past her and continued on.

Blaise threw himself down on his bed as soon as he arrived in his room. He thought briefly about finding Stacey, that leggy blonde he'd been 'seeing' since last week, but almost immediately dismissed the idea. She was getting much to clingy and attached, as if she were looking for some kind of long-term commitment from him. He mentally scoffed at the idea and made a note to get rid of her at the earliest possible date. He had half a mind to go hunting in Hogsmeade, but Pansy would have a fit. And even the momentary amusement it would bring wouldn't be worth listening to Pansy nag him for days. He didn't want to just sit here though... 'Snape!' he thought as he sat up. One of Blaise's most favourite past times, was annoying Hogwarts' Potions Master. Blaise, as well as Pansy and Draco, had grown up knowing Professor Snape; their parents had been friends at Hogwarts and had remained such ever since.

Blaise got up and made his way out of his dormitory and towards Professor Snape's office. Blaise walked into Snape's office without knocking, interrupting his grading of papers. Blaise smirked as he saw Snape was currently turning Harry Potter's latest assignment into a sea of red ink. "Hey, Sevvie." Snape scowled at the use of the name, but said nothing else, frowning at Blaise, who had just flopped down into the very uncomfortable chair before Snape's desk. "I haven't talked to you lately."

"Whatever gave you the idea it was accidental?"

"You know, you ought to get a better chair. I mean, I have a very delicate arse and your bloody chair is going to damage it." Blaise shifted in the chair, eventually swinging one of his legs over the arm of the chair.

Snape looked down his considerable nose at him. "I suppose you think that this would somehow upset me. I'm afraid you are most incorrect, as I care very little about the state of you, or your-" Snape's curled his lip in disgust. "Body."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," Blaise shot back with a cheeky grin.

Snape scowled, but any person who knew him well could tell that if he were truly irritated, Blaise would be long gone. "Is there any particular reason that you've chosen tonight to interrupt my work?"

"No _particular_ reason, I suppose. Wanted to check and make sure you're still failing Potter."

"Rest assured," Snape said dryly. "His wit invite you by his looks to come, but when you knock it never is at home."

"I don't think there is anything at home in his head," Blaise returned, sardonically.

"Blaise," Snape began in a tone that brooked no argument. "Why are you here?"

"I'm lonely, Uncle Sevvie," Blaise responded in a nasal, child-like voice.

"I'm sorry." Snape said, wincing again at the nickname. "Have the voices in your head finally abandoned you?"

"Oh, no, of course not. They never leave. But Draco and Pansy have been in their own little world for a while now ... I'm really getting tired of feeling like I'm talking to myself when we're having a conversation." Blaise ran a hand through his shaggy, jet-black hair.

Snape looked at Blaise quizzically. The boy didn't often share his problems, even with him. "They ignore you?"

"No, no, they don't ignore me, really. We talk ... but we don't ... _talk_. It's the 'pass the potatoes' kind of talk. They brood endlessly; nothing penetrates their little black rain clouds." Blaise shook his head, obviously frustrated that he couldn't make Professor Snape understand what he was trying to say.

Snape leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands. This hadn't ever happened before, not that he knew of anyway, and he could understand how Blaise would find it troubling. "Well, we can safely rule out the stress of schoolwork for Draco. I can't imagine turning in a few of his assignments a week would cause him undue stress."

Blaise scoffed. "No, Sev, it's not schoolwork. I think Pansy's problem has something to do with Weasley ... but that still doesn't explain why Draco's acting like a nutter."

"Well, I have only one suggestion for you."

"Oh, great, wise, Potions Master, impart this knowledge to me, your humble servant," Blaise quipped in a monotone voice.

"Never shorten my name again."

Blaise rolled his eyes and started to stand. "You know, I'm beginning to think I'm the only person in this entire castle who isn't either a fucking nutter or a complete arse!"

"There's really no need to be so melodramatic about things. Prepare yourself for this," Severus affected astonishment, "maybe Draco and Pansy just need some space."

"Oh, come on, Sevvie. You know how they are! If they needed space, Draco would throw a hissy fit in the middle of the Great Hall and Pansy would hole herself up in her room for days on end with half the library. Besides, I know how they are when they 'need space'. This is different ... it's almost as if they're ... distracted." Blaise flopped back down in the uncomfortable chair, wincing as he did so.

"I specifically told you not to shorten my name."

"Oh, get over yourself. I've been calling you Sevvie ever since I could talk; I'm not going to stop now."

"Indeed. In that case, I would try not to be offended if I were you when I use you as a test subject on Longbottom's next potion."

Blaise sighed heavily. "You're not helping."

"I'm not quite sure you grasp the concept of how serious I'm being."

"Good god, you're infuriating! I don't understand how my Mum ever managed to put up with you for seven bloody years. Not to mention Lucius; he had an awfully short temper."

"Luck, I would suppose. And why bother being kind when I have so much more fun this way?"

Blaise chuckled humorlessly, as he stood up and started for the door. "I'll leave you alone with your sadistic tendencies, Sevvie."

"I can only hope you will. You must understand, I'm not particularly fond of conversations with a vampyre of middling intellect."

Blaise smirked and leaned against the doorframe. "Oh, I get it now. You're just prejudiced against us immortals, eh? Jealous?" He chuckled softly, but then became somber rather suddenly. "Just ... keep an eye on them, yeah? I'm ... I'm worried."

"I will," Severus said solemnly. "Now, do get lost."

Blaise laughed as he turned around, making his way back towards his dormitory.

… … …

Draco stood by the Room of Requirement at ten forty, entirely content to sit and wait. He was exhausted from his now irregular sleeping and eating patterns, but nothing short of complete dismemberment could cause him to leave where he was now. Eleven rolled around, and there was still no sight of Ginevra. At ten minutes after eleven, Draco was starting to get anxious. But just as he whipped his head around to look down at the other end of the corridor, a strikingly familiar scent reached his nose. He almost let himself smile – almost – as he inhaled the scent that could only mean Ginevra was on her way.

And she did appear, staggering around the corner. He ran forward, but she held up her hand, breathing heavily. "Had to... get past... brother..." she wheezed, causing a small smile to spread over Draco's face. Without responding, Draco took her hand and led her into the Room of Requirement, which had been furnished with a roaring fireplace and a comfortable-looking, leather couch. He sat down and motioned for Ginevra to do the same.

Draco cleared his throat after a few moments of silence. "I just wanted to say, it wasn't particularly wise of me to avoid you the past week." Ginevra smiled a bit to herself; she knew this was the closest thing to an apology she would be getting from him.

"Forget about it. I think we both needed some time to clear our heads, anyways." Ginevra turned her head to look at the fire, but Draco placed his hand on her cheek and pulled her back to face him. He caressed her cheek with his thumb as he studied her features. She would be his – no, she _was _his, he decided. From that moment on. Leaning forward, he claimed her lips with his own roughly, eliciting a gasp of shock from her, though not in dismay. He almost grinned at how she trembled beneath his hands as he cradled her head. After a few moments, Ginevra pulled back ever so slightly, their lips barely brushing with each, deep breath. Tilting her head to the side, she reached up and nibbled on his earlobe. "I want to know how you can make me melt into a little Weasley puddle without even trying." She kissed her way down his jaw line, continuing down his neck and onto his collarbone. His shirt was unbuttoned with a few deft flicks of her fingers and she started to run her hands over his chest and shoulders, which had him growling and hissing, alternately. She felt almost lightheaded at the power she had over him, and, growing bolder, Ginevra began to kiss and nibble her way down his neck to his chest and further, inwardly marveling at the soft, almost invisible hairs that crept down to disappear below his waistline.

Draco pulled Ginevra flush up against him, claiming her lips once again, as she reveled in the feeling of his taut muscles stretched against her own. Slowly she pushed him down onto his back, moving to straddle him. She could feel just how excited he was by the first contact they'd had in a week. She rolled her hips against his, experimentally.

"Oh fuck … Gin … don't …" he hissed.

Had his eyes been open, he would've seen Ginevra's eyes flash, as she got a sudden idea. But, unfortunately for him, his eyes had been closed, so he had no idea what was coming to him.

Ginevra stretched her body out, lying completely on top of him, as she grabbed a fistful of his hair. "I'm going to make you melt into a little Malfoy puddle."

"Are—"

The rest of Draco's answer was drowned out by the moan that escaped his lips as Ginevra ground her hips into his. Hard. She smirked for a moment before pulling his head up and kissing him. The kiss was filled with passion and brutality, and an underlying feeling of possession that was like a drug. A drug to which she became more and more addicted every time she kissed him.

Draco reached up to run his hands up her sides, barely skimming her breasts, only to have Ginevra roll off of him. He opened his eyes to find her standing next to the sofa, smirking evilly. "And, until you tell me what you found out from Pansy, you'll stay my little Malfoy puddle." With one last, searing kiss, that only left Draco wanting more, more, more, she was gone.

Minutes later, Draco was still trying to pull himself together. He was fucking _trembling_ and he needed a _damn_ cold shower.

A/N:_ Jess: Ok, Pardon me if this gets a bit bitchy, but I feel a tad...frustrated. Pia, how about you?_** Pia: Again with the understatements! I'm not … frustrated … I think homicidal would be a better word for it.**_ Lol, indeed. We have recently been asked to clarify, again , who exactly is writing this story, but I had thought we already made it abundantly clear, eh Pia?_** Precisely! I mean, even if we hadn't, how many neurons does it take to figure out that TWO types of font equals TWO different people! Come on now!**_ Not to mention, we have a profile on our user name that clarifies everything, and if you read ANY of the authors' notes, you would understand._** Furthermore, if you're going to comment on something other than actual content (i.e. characterizations, time setting, OC's, etc.) then you need to read the author notes before you do so! They usually clarify any of those things and all generic questions will be answered there.**_ It is so annoying to get questions we've already answered, after all._** We've no problem answering questions, but for the love of all things wicked and evil! Please! Don't ask questions we've already answered!**_ Thank you very much. And I will spell it out here: There are 2 people writing this story, Pia and myself. I write all my comments in italics, and Pia writes in bold. We are two separate usernames on fanfiction dot net, Pia O'Leary and Surely Not I. (Guess who's is who's) If we receive this question anymore, we will just laugh really hard and ignore it._** Indeed. On a much lighter note! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! We're almost to 100! I hope you all liked this chapter, even though Ginny was kind of … dominatrix-y.**_ Hey, it's all good, and it's the DG we promised! But, to get a bit more depressing, updates might take a bit longer._** Yes, and some of the a/n's and review answers may be coming from only me for a while.**_ And won't everyone miss me so much?_** Gecko and I will. So, I think we've sufficiently over-stepped the boundary of 'pithy'; on to reviews!**

Meadow B: **Awe, well thank you! Don't get TOO excited; Draco's worried about telling Ginny in this chapter for a reason.**_ And our Gin's got her own twists coming with that... But that's all I'll say for now! Yes, brooms are crazy... :cough:_** :smiles knowingly: You'll just have to wait and see about the glow. Isn't that so evil that we're not saying anything? I love it!**

fallen0angel15: **_Thanks so much! Read the A/N regarding updates._**

Molly, Mollyburleyfools: **_Thank you very much!_**

Bungle-in-the-Jungle:_ Well, seeing as we've written rather far ahead, Blaise is already found his plan, so unfortunately, no anvil._** Much to my dismay! But, as you can see, we're heaping on the DG tension and the Ron/Pansy drama.**_ Indeed, and there will be an abundance of drama, so no worries!_

darklight989:** I definitely know what you mean! I've been in school for a week now and I'm still not comprehending the fact that I have to actually get my lazy arse out of bed EVERY DAY!**_ Well, I'm not in school, and won't be a while, not to rub it in :snickers: And slore is such a useful term... Harry Potter is Hermione's slore... I love it!_** Yay! And Hermione is everybody's slore! Woohoo!**

Acidredshadow: **_We'll do our best to update!_**

Babykelyse:**_ Well, as you can see, you got both in this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!_**

Buny: **_Read the A/N above. Thanks!_**

BlueBerriRain:_ It's no problem; we heart all our loyal reviewers..._** Indeed! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well!**

DracoandGinny: **Well, we won't be finished for a while, as this story is going to be rather long.**_ Horribly longer than we'd ever even planned, actually. But that's a good thing, right? Right:silence ensues:_

Samantha Marie:** Is Gin gonna become a vamp? Well, that's certainly a question, isn't it, Jess?**_ Sure it is. And she is... not. Or is she? Well, of course... maybe. Yes, we have a definite maybe._** So anywho, hope that helped, hehe.**

Kerkera:_ Well, we love cliffhangers!_** Indeed! Our chapters are always around 5 pages, even though some are a lot longer.**


	12. 11: Not Everything Goes as Planned

"Bloody woman … don't even know what … can't fucking control herself … damn her … leaving me like this … what the hell was she thinking …"

Pansy heaved a sigh; it had been ten minutes since Draco had stormed into her room and he was still pacing about, muttering under his breath. She'd hoped to have the night to herself, wanting to take a nice, long bubble bath and simply relax. 'No such luck,' she thought bitterly as she climbed out of the tub and donned her robe. Pansy walked out of her bathroom, snickering inwardly at Draco's irritated pout. "Having a problem?" she asked sweetly, sliding into a chair.

Draco looked at her as if she were mad. "Does it look like it? Of course I have a problem! A female one with red hair and too much attitude!"

"Oh, I see. Did you have a fight?" She didn't honestly think they'd had a fight, so to speak, but the best method in dealing with an enraged Draco was taking things one simple step at a time.

"No, we didn't have a bloody _fight!_ She … I … she was …"

Pansy once again had to hide her mirth at Draco's helpless gesturing. He was flustered so rarely; it was interesting to see him so agitated now. "Did you mention anything to her?"

"No! Of course not! This has nothing to do with that! But she was … we met up and … then she … everything was great and … I'm not really sure what …" Draco sank into the overstuffed chair behind him, burying his face in his hands.

Pansy sensed Draco was too distraught to clearly tell her what had transpired, and she walked over, putting her hand on his shoulder in an unusual display of comfort for a Slytherin. "Don't worry, Draco. I'm sure you'll figure things out."

Draco looked up at her suddenly, a very serious look on his face. "Pansy, the only way I will figure anything out is if she puts away the whip and leather long enough for me to talk to her."

Pansy smiled. "Ah, is there trouble in paradise for the Slytherin Love God?" she teased, using an old nickname. "Never thought I'd see the day."

He scowled darkly at her, clearly not amused by her joke. "Pansy, this is serious. That bloody woman is going to be the death of me."

Pansy laughed again, straightening and turning to head to bed. "Girl troubles. Just like every other guy." At Draco's pointed look, she hurriedly amended her statement. "Well, maybe not like every guy. But definitely closer than you realize." Pansy then motioned to the door, and back at him. "Night, Draco."

"What! You can't leave me here to figure this out by myself!"

Pansy grinned at him. "Good night, Draco." She nearly giggled at his frustrated sigh as he stood and left.

… … …

"Weasley!"

Ron stopped walking and turned around to find Zabini striding towards him. "What do you want? I'm on my way to Quidditch."

"I want a word."

"Make it quick." Blaise grabbed Ron's arm none too gently, dragging him into the shadows. Ron pressed his lips together at Blaise's strength, but said nothing. "Is there any point to this, besides assaulting me?" Ron spat, jerking his arm out of Blaise's grasp.

"Look, Weasley," Blaise began. "I don't know why you've got it into your mind that Slytherin girls make for good variety or something," here Ron growled, "but you need to either step away from Pansy, or step away from Potter and his fan club."

A sudden look crossed Ron's face. "Oh," Ron said with a smirk. "Is that all? Done. Anything else you need?" Blaise gaped for a moment at Ron. He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. Ron grinned, and walked smartly off, leaving Blaise staring behind him. Some things just don't go as planned.

… … …

Ginevra exited the girl's locker room several minutes after everyone else, having indulged in a long shower for her aching muscles and shouting at Ron to go ahead. She took a deep breath of air, then shivered at an odd feeling. Ginevra got the distinct feeling someone was watching her, and she turned instinctively to focus on the shadows near the locker room door. Sure enough, Draco materialized out of seemingly thin air, much as he'd done to Peeves, only this time, she was ready for it. "Why, hello," she said, exhaustion from practice making her bold.

He fixed her with a smoldering look that would have made nearly any one else quite uncomfortable. "Ginevra," he intoned softly.

She sighed heavily. "Something I can do for you, Draco?"

"Yes, actually, there is." He strode towards her, backing her up against the wall behind her. He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "You can explain to me what the hell that stunt you pulled yesterday was all about."

Ginevra smiled coyly, running a finger down his chest. "Oh, that little thing?"

"Little?" Draco asked lewdly, pushing her hand away. He nipped gently down her neck, then went back and soothed the bites with his tongue. She moaned, pulling him down to her, but he pulled away. Again, she tried to clutch his head, and this time he let her, stopping just short of her lips. "Oh, Ginevra," he murmured, his lips brushed against hers and eliciting an involuntary spasm of need from her. Then he stood stock still, never moving away. "I'm the only one who will be doing the seducing here, Ginevra," Draco said softly, licking her lips as he spoke. She trembled beneath him, and he allowed himself a grin. "Remember that." After a moment uncomfortable silence, Draco pressed a hot, searing kiss to her pursed lips. But, just as quickly as he'd started it, he ended it, by straightening up and walking away, without any hesitation whatsoever.

Ginevra slumped against the wall, her hand going to her chest in an attempt to steady her breathing, involuntarily. Her eyes fluttered closed as she shook her head, thanking every god she could name that no one else was around. Because she was sure that her cheeks were quite flushed and not even her brother would be dense enough not to understand _why_ she was shivering the way that she was.

… … …

Ron was trudging back up the deserted hallway to Gryffindor, dragging his broom behind him. Mentally apologizing to his bedraggled broom, but acknowledging that he was much too tired to carry it properly, he looked up the hallway and sighed. Surely he didn't have to deal with another Potter celebration? Suddenly a shape flew out of the darkness, knocking the breath out of him. Air whooshed from him as he fell backwards into an unused classroom, knocking into a few desks on the way down. The figure landed on him, and he was engulfed in a familiar scent as long tendrils of hair brushed his face in the semi-darkness of the room. "Pansy?"

"I should hope no one else would be on top of you," she breathed, not moving from her current position.

"Whatever happened to just saying hello?" Ron inquired calmly, not the least bit concerned that her weight on him made breathing difficult. It would be an excellent way to go.

"Life wouldn't be very much fun if we all lived according to the precepts of society, Ronald. I'll greet you how I like." With that, she kissed him hard, slamming his head back against the floor. He groaned lightly, but when she pulled away to apologize, he yanked her down to his mouth again. Rolling over so that he supported himself on his arms above her, he kicked the door shut.

"Now, where were we?" he asked roughly.

Pansy smiled up at him. "Right about here," she said, pointing at her kiss-swollen lips.

"Ah yes," Ron murmured before claiming her lips once again.

… … …

"You're so tense." Pansy bit her lower lip, as she concentrated on the knot of tension just under Ron's left shoulder blade. After a nice long snog, they'd gone back to Pansy's dormitory. Ron didn't exactly fancy going back to Gryffindor Tower to listen to any more of Harry's stories from the war. And Pansy would rather spend the night with Ron, than alone in her dormitory, as she was quite sure that Draco and Blaise wouldn't be back until late.

Pansy was sitting on the couch before the fireplace, Ron on the floor between her knees as she massaged his tense, tired muscles. "Well, if you had Ginny for a sister, wouldn't you be tense?"

Pansy laughed softly. "And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" She tilted his head forward to knead the muscles in his neck.

"You have no idea how good that feels," he mumbled, after a few moments, causing Pansy to chuckle again.

"But really, Ron. What did you mean about having a sister like Ginny?"

"Just that she's got a natural talent for getting herself into trouble. You know, I think I'd like it if you ambushed me after _every_ quidditch practice."

Pansy noted the way he kept changing the subject, and frowned. "Ginevra's not in trouble, is she?" Pansy hadn't thought Ron had found out about Draco, and nothing had been said about grades or otherwise.

"Well, no," Ron said slowly. "I just worry is all."

"Come on; you can't be worrying about her just because she has the _potential_ to get into trouble. Everyone has that potential."

"It's not that I … you see … I mean … she's always been."

Pansy's hands stilled, coming to rest on his shoulders. "That's not really what's wrong, is it?" Ron hung his head. "I thought not. Ron, please, just tell me what's-" she suddenly stopped as she remembered the day they'd gone riding. In lieu of the disaster while flying, she'd completely forgot about the incident that preceded it.

… _two seventh year Gryffindors, Dean and Seamus, seemed to affect sudden interest in them …_

… _"Nice day for a stroll, ain't it, Ron?" …_

"Pansy, you don't need to worry about this," Ron all but whispered, breaking her out of her reverie. He still hadn't turned around or made any move to look at her, but she wished he would. If she could see his eyes, then she could read him. She would know how to deal with the situation; because she would know what emotion he was feeling. But he wasn't letting her see his eyes, probably purposely. And she couldn't yet read his emotions from his voice. But she felt it an invasion of privacy if she were to try and feel his emotions. She'd know exactly what was going through his head, but simply couldn't make herself flip the proverbial switch that would turn on her gift. She wouldn't betray him in that way.

"Ron," she said softly, beginning to feel ill. "Will you please tell me what's wrong?" Pansy was beginning to suspect, but she wanted to hear Ron admit it.

"It's just … it hasn't been easy since … the Gryffindors are loyal to Potter, you see. And you know he's more than a bit miffed."

Pansy slid down onto the floor to sit next to him. She picked up his hand and entwined their fingers. "Yes, I know that Potter isn't happy with you."

Ron looked at Pansy oddly. "To be more accurate, all of Gryffindor isn't happy with me."

"Well, except Ginny, of course," Ron amended. Taking a deep breath, Ron turned to face her. "Pansy, I wish you wouldn't do this."

"I have to, Ron."

Ron looked at Pansy squarely. "You're not going to like it." Pansy gestured encouragingly and Ron sighed in defeat. "Some of my housemates are being assholes to Ginny and me. I don't really care what kind of shite they pull with me, but they need to stop with Ginny."

Pansy furrowed her brow. "Does it upset Ginevra?"

"Well, if it does, she wouldn't tell anyone anyway."

"What else? You sounded like you were going to say something else."

Ron gave her an exasperated look. "You're nothing if not persistent. I just … I want to make sure that it doesn't get out of hand, that it doesn't … filter down."

"What … what do you mean 'filter down'? Filter down to whom?" Pansy gave him a serious look when he shifted nervously and started looking at some point above her head, rather than her eyes. "Ron," Pansy started warningly.

"Oh, all right," Ron said, irritated. "I don't think any of my loyal and upstanding housemates are above hate crimes... But especially to a Slytherin."

Pansy looked more incredulous than worried. "You mean you're worried about _me_?"

Ron smiled wryly. "I always thought Slytherins were supposed to be subtle."

But Pansy's expression suddenly turned horror-struck. "Oh gods … this is my fault, isn't it? They're … they're doing this to you because of me … oh gods …"

"Pansy …" He didn't want to lie to her, she knew, but he, clearly, didn't know what else to say to her.

Pansy dropped her head to her hands. "All I do is screw everyone else's lives up," she whispered.

Ron immediately sprang forward. "Don't you dare say that, Pans!" Pansy looked up, startled by the vehemence in Ron's voice. He grabbed her hands and looked straight at her as he continued, and she saw the sincerity in his eyes. "You've given me something to live for. And don't you ever think otherwise."

"But, Ron –"

"No! No but's! No life is ever perfect. There will always be trials and tribulations, but that doesn't mean that you still can't love the life you live. And you know what, the Gryffindors could do everything in their power to make me miserable and I'd still be happy, because I'd still have you, okay? There are only two people whose opinions matter anymore. And one of them is sitting in front of me, right now."

Pansy bit her lip. She hated hiding things from Ron, and for him to be so honest with her... She would risk it. "Ron, there's something I need to tell you..."

Ron immediately looked worried. "Have the Gryffindors already done something?"

Pansy smiled a little. "No, it's not about that."

He relaxed considerably, winding an arm around Pansy's waist and pulling her closer. "What is it then?" Noticing her discomfort, Ron continued, "You know you can tell me anything, Pans."

She grabbed his free hand and squeezed it, momentarily. "That means a lot."

Pansy took a deep breath. Only Draco and Blaise had ever known she was an empath, but she felt Ron should know now, even if he was angry with her for not telling him. She hated keeping something this big from him. "Ron, do you remember the things your parents used to tell stories about? Elementals, Merlin, Morgana and the like?" Ron nodded, looking a bit confused. "Well, they weren't all just stories."

"Go on." Ron sounded slightly apprehensive, but Pansy decided to ignore that for the time being.

"Do you remember anything about beings called 'empaths'?"

After a few tense moments, Ron spoke. "Yes. They're ordinary wizards, for the most part, except that they're immortal. They can feel the emotions of others as if they were their own. But what does this have to do with anything?"

Pansy steeled herself for the yelling that would follow her statement. "Ron, I hope you won't be mad at me," she said in a rush, not stopping for breath. "But I am one, and I didn't want to tell you at first because I didn't think you wouldn't believe me, or maybe you'd be mad at me, and then I would lose you before I even got to know you but maybe I should have, because now you'll think I've been using your emotions, and there's more to it than just what you know, and-" Ron gently put a finger to her lips, stopping her swift conversation. "But," Pansy tried to say, as Ron shook his head again, a smile coming over his face. "Aren't you mad?" Pansy whispered incredulously. He had to be! She'd been keeping secrets from him! Ron grinned, sweeping her into a large hug. "You're not mad..." she said again dazedly, and Ron laughed before kissing her soundly.

"Mad? Pansy, that's brilliant!" Pansy laughed, feeling more carefree than she had in a long time. Things were definitely starting to look up.

A/N: **Pia: I think I speak for both of us when I say that I am TERRIBLY sorry that this update took so long!**_ Jes: I apologize most profusely but you know, we did say it would be a bit... heh heh heh..._ **Well, life happens, so we can do nothing more than beg for your forgiveness!**_ Yes, yes, and we hope you will... Maybe? Well, hopefully this chapter helped a bit. On to thank you's!_

squirrel-wrath:_ Haha, yes... soon... heh heh... Once again, so many sorries!_** Indeed, but thank you all the same:)**

Aisling Angel:** _So sorry! But we're glad you like it!_**

Darklight03:_ Thank you very much... we try, we try._ **Haha, indeed.**

Suffering n shadows:** For the record, this fic won't be abandoned, although its likely that life will interfere and postpone it at times. looks sheepish**_ Yes, and we do have quite a bit written, so we aren't going to be actual in trouble for awhile.** Thanks!**_

Serpentofsalazar: _Thank you much!_** Wasn't Ginny just so kick-ass? Too bad we had to give Draco some revenge in this chapter. Ah well.**

tenshi noyo Ryu Taiga:** Doesn't everyone want Draco to be their little Malfoy puddle?**_ I know I do, anyway. But Blaise is just so awesome, we could never forget about him!_** Hehe … :smiles evilly and rubs hands together:**

HarryPotterFreakEver:**First of all, there is no agreeing. She is Draco's mate, end of story. Go back and read the explanation that Pansy gives Draco and perhaps you'll have an answer to your question. :clears throat and glares: Thanks for the review.**

Andrea: **_Thanks!_**

Babykelyse: **_Thanks!_**

Alexandria J. Malfoy: **_Merci beaucoup! More funkiness to come!_**

FirePrincessofSlytherin16: **_Thank you! Sorry this took so long!_**

IssaLee:_ Honestly, you have no idea how much fun it was to write the Blaise/Sevvie convo. Ah, good times._** Yes, most of the credit for that tid-bit goes to Jess. The DG was awesomely fun to write as well! hehe**

Draco-ginny-lover: **_Thank you so very much! We're flattered! Sorry this took so long! We hope the computer problems will be resolved soon!_**

Bungle-in-the-Jungle: **Haha! Yes, the DG relationship is going to be rather unconventional…**_ Thank you so very very much! and harry and hermy will get their comeuppance!_** Damn straight they will!**_ Ah, but we love Snape anyway, don't we?_

Darklight989: _Slore… we should use that in a chapter … and school is pretty horrible, we can agree on that. _**No kidding! I just finished reading Moby-Dick, aka, my English teacher's favourite flavor of torture. Urg.**

xxNevaehxx: _Ah, why can't all reviews be this nice? Thank you very much!_** We are extremely flattered! **

BlueBerriRain: _Lol, no, I understand … I think …_** Haha, I can assure you that Ginny and Draco's relationship will be nothing if not a little on the unconventional side. Hehe.**

SilverUnicorn666: _I agree, there are too many stories that have Ron and Ginny hating each other, which is very unrealistic. The two youngest, always fighting? Come on!_** Haha, I understand a bit of sibling squabbling, but rest assured that our Ron and Ginny will never hate each other like a lot of other fics. I've read a few where it actually makes sense, but I just love Ron too much!**

Kerkera: **Haha, well you'll be …in pain and hunger for a bit longer, dare I say. Sorry this took so long!**

Acidredshadow: **_We are cruel, cruel PEOPLE!_**

Meadow B: _Lol, well, we could make it all that simple, but would you really want us to? And it will be quite a while before we finish … sorry?_** Haha, I'm definitely going to enjoy drawing the DG stuff out here. Not to mention the torture we're going to put you through regarding Blaise::grins evilly:**

Raiast  _That we shall._** Very flattered!**

Kinz: _It's nice to hear that, honestly. And Snape is the best, I'll agree. Any questions, please feel free… we don't really bite anyone's heads off!_** Well … Jess doesn't, so … we'll just direct all questions to her! Hehe. Well, in terms of content, its going to go a lot farther than it has gone, so FYI. Thanks so much!**


	13. 12: In Which The Plot Thickens

**Chapter 12**

"Ok, that has to be Ginny, right?"  
"What other redhead would be at the Library this late?"  
"Good point, but it's not like the Library is only for certain people in the school…"  
"Shut up, and let's just do this."  
Two figures crept along bookcases toward the lone figure sitting at a table, reading by the light of a single candle. Madam Pince was off shelving books in another wing of the Library, so the figures kept to the shadows lest she come back.  
They reached the girl, keeping back a few feet, and one raised a wand. The other nodded, and the first whispered, "Petrificus Totalus!" The girl before them immediately stiffened before falling out her chair facedown with a clunk.  
"Alright, that was easy," the figure with the wand started, leaning down to check the girl before crying out softly in dismay. "Oh, no, she's got a blue necktie! This is a Ravenclaw!"  
"I can't believe you screwed this up!"  
"Me! You didn't see it either!"  
"Whatever," said the second figure, whipping out their own wand. "Say the counter spell."  
Immediately following a muttered counter spell, the figure murmured a spell to put the girl asleep.  
"There, now she'll think she just fell asleep and had an odd dream-"  
Suddenly, a soft gasp reverberated through the room, and both figures whirled around to see Ron Weasley staring at them openmouthed. "Blimey, what-"  
"Nothing," the second figure said silkily. "In fact, we were never even here."  
Ron started forward, but both figures seemed to melt into the shadows.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ron grabbed for a figure and snagged the hood, wrenching it back and staring at the person before him in amazement. "Hold on just a minute, why-"  
"It doesn't matter why. It's not like you'll remember anyway. Obliviate!"

…………………………….

Ron walked into the Griffindor common room shaking his head confusedly. "Hey, Ron," Ginevra said, springing up from her chair and going over to him. "I've been waiting for awhile, I thought maybe you'd gone to meet up with Pansy or something- What's wrong?" Ron shook his head again, as if to clear it. "Nothing, I'm fine. Let's go."

……………………………….

Pansy stomped her foot childishly, and turned to glare at the closed door of her bathroom. The tub was still filling and Draco had just come bursting into her room, yelling at her through the door that he needed to speak to her. She still hadn't gotten her bubble bath and she was getting rather tired of these incessant interruptions. With a heavy sigh, she shut off the tap and made sure her robe was secure before walking out into her bedroom to find Draco and, hopefully, find reason yell at him as well.

"Pansy!" Draco yelled, even though it was clear she could hear him, as she was standing a few feet away. "I need help!"

"Well," Pansy said carefully, wincing at his volume. "That much is clear." She smirked as she continued, "But the real question is whether or not to pay the galleons for a good therapist, when it probably wouldn't do much good anyways."  
"Ooh, ouch," Draco shot back dryly.

Pansy sighed, resigning herself to another lost bath and long chat. "What's wrong, Draco?"

Draco ran his hand through his hair, mussing it entirely. "I don't know how to tell her."

"I believe we've already had this conversation … about three times, in fact."  
"I know … but I …"  
He heaved a sigh and Pansy decided that she truly detested this lovesick - or rather lust-sick - sighing, little boy in front of her. It was this decision, along with the wish to have her sneering, evil friend back, which prompted her to say, "Yes, you're beside yourself with the need to shag her. So let's figure out what we're gonna do thing, eh?"

Draco looked up at her in surprise, and Pansy almost laughed outright at the hopeful expression on his face.

"Ok, Pans, what's the plan?"

Pansy frowned. "This is a group effort, Draco."

Draco sighed. "Can't we ask Blaise?"

Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Do you think we ask Blaise?"

"Guess not," Draco muttered with a grimace.

"Well," he continued after a moment, "I suppose I could be all … romantic and … whatever. Chicks like that, right?"  
"This, coming from they Slytherin Love God?"  
Draco waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, but I've never had to, you know, actually try. They've always been much more than willing."

"Well, in that case, I think I like Ginevra more already."

"Pansy, please, be serious."

"What makes you think I'm not?"

Frustrated, Draco threw himself down on Pansy's bed. "Ok, so I'll try the whole romantic thing, then I should..."

"Try not to be an ass for ten whole minutes at a time. Oh, and not throwing her up against a wall and ravishing her would probably be a good idea, as well."  
"Well, no shit! I never would have guessed!"

"Learn something new everyday," Pansy said blithely, ignoring Draco's sarcasm. "Work out exactly what you're going to say beforehand, and make sure it's concise and clear."

Draco took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "All right, I can do this..."

Pansy and Draco continued to plot for the remainder of the night, Pansy giving Draco suggestions, and Draco ready to pull his hair out.

………………………

Blaise staggered, having had one drink too many at the Three Broomsticks. He was alone, as per usual, and was feeling a bit peckish. 'Of course, Draco's off doing whatever,' he thought bitterly. 'We haven't been on a proper hunt for days...' Walking through a field near the Shrieking Shack, he came upon a figure sitting on a rock, facing away from him. Sneaking up behind the figure soundlessly, he was taken aback when they suddenly turned, facing him with interest. A girl not much younger than himself stared up at him through a veil of dark hair, and Blaise was surprised she didn't move away at the presence of a strange man before her. 'Well, we can fix that,' he thought slyly, allowing his fangs to drop and smiling evilly. Still, the girl didn't turn away, but shook her hair out of her face. He saw a girl with an olive complexion, and eyes so dark they seemed to be a reflection of the night sky. "Aren't you afraid of me?" Blaise asked, more than slightly irritated at her nonchalant manner.

She tilted her head to the right and regarded him with a curious expression. After a moment, her dark eyes narrowed and her button nose crinkled in amusement. "Why? Should I be?"  
Blaise's mouth fell open in what he knew was a rather undignified manner. "Don't you know what I am, little girl?"  
"Don't call me little girl; I'm just as old as you are. And yes, I know what you are. Only an idiot wouldn't after you flashed your fangs with so little subtlety."

Blaise started to protest, but she continued on as if she hadn't noticed it, even though he knew she had. "But no, I'm not _afraid_ of you. You're not going to kill me, so why should I be afraid of you?" She smirked and turned back to look at the Shrieking Shack, her hair falling in front of her face, once again.

Blaise stood poleaxed. No one had ever spoken to him so certainly, and without any fear. He reached out tentatively, putting his hand on her shoulder. She didn't even flinch. "I don't scare you," he whispered, leaning close to her ear, "at all?" She turned, and her hair parted again, giving him another glimpse of her eyes.

She stared at him for a moment, before turning back around. "Well, I'm not stupid enough to ever want to face an angry vampyre ... but no, you don't scare me." After a moment of heavy silence, she continued, "Are you just going to stand there all night, or are you going to sit down?"

She motioned to a spot on the rock next to her, and Blaise sat next to her wordlessly. He studied her profile for a minute, noting she held herself slouched despite her previous bravado to him. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Why didn't you pull out your wand when you heard me?"

She faced him slowly, and he was surprised at the despair he saw in her eyes. "Magick wouldn't work well on vampyres."

"That's not why, though, is it..." Blaise said thoughtfully. "It's natural for most wizards to do, regardless of how it affects their enemies."

"Well, that would be a lovely instinct to have ... if I were a witch." She stood up suddenly and started walking towards the forest situated between Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack. Blaise stood up and followed her.  
"You mean you're a Muggle?"  
"No I'm not a Muggle! Merlin! Of all the things to say..."  
"I didn't mean --"  
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a squib. There it is. You're welcome to leave now." Despite the plentiful undergrowth, she was walking rather quickly through the forest. Blaise, however, didn't have any trouble keeping up with her.

"Oh, am I?" He jumped in front of her, effectively stopping her retreat. Noticing how she had to crane her neck to see him, he took a slight comfort in the one advantage he had over her. "And if I choose not to?" he asked with a sneer, leaning down.

"Your choices are your own," she muttered, backing up quickly. She stumbled in the undergrowth, falling backwards, and Blaise immediately grabbed for her, keeping her upright. She flew into his chest and they were both silent for a minute.

"I have to go," she muttered after a time, pulling away. She regarded him for a moment. "You know, I don't think you're near as off-color as the Ministry thinks."

"Oh, really?" Blaise asked as she turned around and started walking away from him, once again. But she didn't answer. In fact, she didn't even give any indication that she'd heard him.  
Blaise chuckled softly as she finally passed out of sight. It had been quite a shock to hear her say that she wasn't the least bit afraid of him, but now that he thought about it, he rather liked the notion. Excluding Pansy and Draco, he hadn't encountered anyone that wasn't scared shitless in years. It was more than a bit intriguing, he decided, as he headed back towards Hogwarts. Later that night, as he collapsed in his large, four-poster bed, he realized that he'd never even gotten her name.

"Damn."

………………………………………

Had anyone entered the Room of Requirement at that moment, they would have strongly suggested that the youngest Malfoy be placed in St. Mungo's Hospital under 24 hour supervision. Draco was walking around the room muttering to himself, as he double-checked everything. He'd spent the past week getting everything in order. He'd even taken a potion to suppress his vampyric instincts for the night. He didn't want to end up shagging Ginevra when he was supposed to be having a serious conversation with her. Not only would Ginevra have a fit, he'd be on Pansy's shit list, which was the last place any sane person ever wanted to be.

Ginevra entered the room precisely on time, slanting Draco a curious glance at the setting before her. "What's all this about?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck in greeting.

He rested his hands on her hips, delighting in the way her little black dress hugged her curves. Potion or not, he was still a teenaged male. "Why does it have to be about anything? Can't I plan a romantic dinner for my girlfriend?" He smiled slightly at her shocked expression, before leaning down to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

Ginevra grinned as he pulled away. "I suppose..." she dragged him back down to her lips for another, more heated kiss. "But we both know that's not what this is about, right?" she asked in a whisper.

"Perhaps," he answered, just as softly.  
"I guess that means you're not going to tell me."  
"I guess so." Draco chuckled softly as Ginevra pouted. "No luck, Gin. That doesn't work on me."

"I know what will, though." Before Draco could fully comprehend what she was doing, she had captured his lips with her own, biting down hard. He moaned as his blood filled both of their mouths, and kissed her back hungrily.

Damn it all to hell! "No," he whispered raggedly, pulling away and wiping at his mouth. "No, this wasn't what I'd planned..."

He turned suddenly, facing away from her, as he tried to regain his composure. 'Damn that woman!' he screamed inside his head. The potion was pretty much null and void, by now, but there was still a chance to make everything work. "Gin, please."  
"Why are you acting this way! What's going on, Draco!"

"There is nothing going on!" Draco said, a bit louder than was absolutely necessary. He took a deep breath and smiled. "Let's just sit and have a bite to eat."

Ginevra sat, watching him warily, and reached for the wine he had set out previously. Draco continued to smile, grabbing for the wine before she could reach it. "Let me be mother, Ginevra."

After watching him for a moment more, Ginevra seemed to decide that he was being sincere, so she settled in and took the glass of wine he offered. "It looks wonderful, by the way." The room was lit only by the large fireplace and the candles placed on the round, two-person table. There was a loveseat, which looked immensely comfortable, placed in front of the fireplace.

"It does, doesn't it?" Draco preened, and Ginevra laughed. They talked about many different things, from the happening in Slytherin to Potter's latest tale, and Ginevra began to relax more and more. But she noticed the more relaxed she became, the tenser Draco got.

"Draco," she said, interrupting a statement he'd been about to make about Blaise. "What's wrong?"

He looked up suddenly, having been studying his half-finished piece of pie. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and Ginevra noticed, much to her dismay that he refused to look her in the eye. Instead, he was staring at some point a few inches above her head. "Draco?"

Ginevra began to get annoyed with his obvious reluctance to tell her what he had really brought her here for. "Draco!"

He looked down at her suddenly, frowning at her impatience. "Wait a tick..."

Ginevra crossed her arms, leaning back. "I think I've waited long enough."

Draco stood up so quickly that his chair fell over; he started pacing about the room. He raked his hands through his hair, mussing it up. "Why do you have to be so god damned impatient! Was it too much to ask that we just sit down and have some conversation like a normal couple!"

Ginevra stood as well, though with considerably more grace. "Well, I think I have the right to be impatient! You've been dancing around the topic of why we're really here all night!"

"Arg! I told you! Why is it that you have to always challenge my intentions! Do you think me _so _evil that it's impossible for me to just want to do something nice for you!" His eyes were blazing and Ginevra could see his fangs when they flashed in the candlelight. She assumed their appearance had something to do with his anger.

Draco ran his hand through his hair, growling softly and turning his back on her. "You know, I never asked to have you as my mate either!"

"Your WHAT!"

Draco froze, realizing what he'd just admitted with an internal curse. He turned slowly to see Ginevra staring at him with a look of rage, and, putting on a smile, did the only thing he could do under the circumstances. "More wine?"

Jess_: Poor Draco, eh? Ah, it's only me this time! Well, hopefully everyone will be happy we updated, anyway. This chapter, I felt Blaise needed something, so I hope you like how Blaise will be edging back and stealing the spotlight! Ah, don't mind me, I just love Blaise! _

beckysue2_: Another of Pia's readers, as I've chosen to name the group? Heh, well, thanks for reading, and though this fic is a vamp fic, it's probably not going to be as typically dark. Ginny doesn't think because she is extremely troubled, and is so used to being awake, she just keeps on the schedule. She does sleep, just stays up later than most._

darklight03_: Actually, we weren't trying to make the Slytherins look nice, per se, just try to show that the Griffindors are not the valiant bunch of Hogwarts. Just because in the book, Slytherins are portrayed as evil doesn't mean that we don't love them all the same!_

Bungle-In-The-Jungle: _Thanks very much! Ginny's attraction to Draco will definitely be explained in later chapters, but very nice catching that one. And I don't want to give away parts of the story, but the Slytherins who matter most to Gin and Ron have already accepted them: )_

Issalee_: Ah, I love them all as well! And personally, I think everyone should despise Griffindor with pride, but that's just me… Anywho, thanks for the review!_

light barrier_: No prob! And thanks for the review!_

squirrel-wrath_: I'm sorry! But we won't take so long next time... hopefully._

darklight989_: hmm… you're not the only darklight on here... sorry, that was a random thought. Sorry we took so long, and thank you for reviewing!_

_Meadow B: Lol, yes, poor Gin indeed… it's good to know we didn't lose any of our first reviewers with that long sabbatical we took! And you'll get your wish, because this is shaping up to be one long-as-hell story! (Not a typo… we figured we'd try to make it a bit less language, seeing as Draco never stops! He's such a bad boy… lol no, I'm klidding!)_

Ginny-and-Draco-fan_: Thank you so much! I love Pansy/Ron, too, and Harry is so overrated! Ugh… anywho, thanks for reviewing!_

Natalia/A bloody monkey/monkey face_: I'm sorry you thought the story jumped around a lot. I went back and took a look, and I do see what you mean, maybe when we're finished we'll go back and correct that. And I always liked Ron, and I'd like him a lot better if he was in SLytherin, far away from the damn Potter. And by all means, review as much as you want… lol. In the Lexicon, Gin's name is listed as Ginevra, so if we'd said Ginerva, my bad, as the beta, I missed it. And did you see the fourth movie yet? What did you think of it?_


	14. 13: What's Going On?

_Please read the author's note at the end!_

**Chapter 13**

"Your WHAT!" Ginevra repeated, staring, wide-eyed at Draco.

He chuckled humourlessly and pulled at the collar of his shirt. "My mate?"

"Please tell me that this is some kind of sick joke and you're not referring to the 'mate' that magickal creatures can have?"

"Err... I thought we agreed never to lie to each other?"

"Argh!" Ginevra was furious and she quickly gathered herself up, leaving without another word and slamming the door hard behind her.

Draco sat down at the table, finishing the rest of his glass of wine morosely. "Well, that went well," he muttered to himself, inspecting the bottle for any remaining alcohol.

… … …

Ron woke with a start as Ginevra came banging through the portrait hole. The Fat Lady swung closed, muttering about the tempers of teenagers, and Ron stared up at his sister from his vantage point on the couch. It was not a good view. Ginevra was wearing a short black dress, and he cringed inwardly to see how little it left to the imagination. But his real qualm was the look of blatant fury across her face. "Gin?" he said tentatively, bracing for an outburst. He was correct.

"And what do YOU want!"

"I ..." Standing up slowly, Ron started to walk across the room, making sure to keep his movements slow. Any sudden movements might provoke her to use the wand that was clutched tightly in her fist. "Gin ... what happened?" he asked gently.

"What happened! WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Er... yes?"

"I'll tell you what happened! That damn ferret tricked me! He lied to me... Well, no, I suppose not really, but it's all his fault anyway!"

Ron studied his sister, completely confused. "Gin," he urged, "Keep your voice down, or else someone will hear you." When she calmed and began to take deep breaths in an obvious attempt to get her anger under control, Ron tried again. "Ok, Gin, slowly now. Tell me what happened today."

Ginny collapsed bonelessly on the couch and Ron prayed fervently that all the other males in Gryffindor Tower would stay safely tucked away in their beds, as Ginny's new position only served to reveal more of her skin. "Draco wanted us to have dinner together; he had this whole thing planned. There were candles and my favorite food and delicious wine. It was ... in a word, every girl's fantasy dinner."

"Draco Malfoy? Why... never mind, just go on."

Ginevra ignored him, continuing. "Then he tells me about how I'm his mate now, and that means I have no option in life anymore, no, now my entire future is plotted out for me and I have no choice in it!" Ginevra finished with a sigh, falling back onto the couch.

Ron stared straight ahead for a few, long moments, trying to comprehend what his sister had just told him. He didn't know much about 'mates', but from what Ginny had said, and the way she was acting, it wasn't good. In fact, he generally had very little of an idea of what she was talking about all together, but he could see she was in no condition to clarify it for him.

Noticing the dark circles beginning to form underneath Ginevra's eyes, he helped her to her feet and sent her to bed. "We'll figure everything out in the morning," he whispered comfortingly, shooing her up the stairs. "Sweet dreams." When Ginevra vanished from sight, he immediately turned and left the common room, leaving the Fat Lady to mutter once again about "teenagers these days".

… … …

"Damn fool woman..." Draco tossed back a healthy gulp of firewhiskey, mentally thanking Blaise for keeping their stores fully stocked. He started to pour himself another glass, but, instead, threw down the glass and took a swig straight from the bottle. He continued to nurse it as he walked over to the large armchair before the fire, dropping himself gracelessly onto it.

Pansy had overheard the glass breaking, and appeared in front of Draco now.

"Hey, Draco!"

Draco belched loudly, not responding to her.

"Er... How'd it go?" Pansy asked tentatively

"Jus peashy!" he slurred, having already downed nearly half the bottle of firewhiskey. Pansy walked up behind him and snatched the bottle out of his hands. She knew that it would only be a while before the alcohol in his system began to dissipate. Vampyres needed a lot more alcohol than regular wizards to get drunk and stay drunk.

"Draco, get to bed." Yanking him upright, Pansy shoved him in the direction of his room. He promptly walked into a wall and collapsed, laughing dazedly. Pansy groaned, and then bent down, helping him up again and letting him lean on her. "Up you come." She had just gotten him back to his room when she heard a low knock.

"Yes?" she called, from where she was still supporting Draco. He was staring off into space, muttering and giggling alternately. Pansy was trying to get him to shuffle close enough to his bed so that she could push him onto it.

"Pans, it's me ... I need to talk to you now."

Pansy sighed as she recognized Ron's voice. "Go to my dormitory; I'll be right there."

With a grunt, Pansy shoved Draco over, and he fell onto his bed and began immediately snoring loudly. She had the odd feeling he'd been asleep before his head hit his pillow. Going into her dormitory, she found Ron, who was looking troubled.

Pansy sighed heavily and walked over to Ron, kissing him lightly before saying, "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hey," Ron answered as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "What's wrong?"

"Draco's gotten himself drunk. Apparently, he's had a rather rough night."

"Apparently. Do you know anything about what's going on between my sister and Draco?"

Pansy looked up at with a guilty look on her face. "Ginevra hasn't told you? I was

so sure that by now you'd know-"

"Shh," Ron silenced her with a quick kiss. "Just tell me what's going on."

Pansy sighed and buried her face in his neck. "You should probably sit down then." After a few moments, Pansy sighed heavily, pulling away and taking Ron's hand as she did so. She led him over to the couch and curled up next to him. "Draco and Ginevra are ... well, I guess you could say that they're seeing each other."

Ron frowned, but said nothing. Pansy looked at him worriedly as she continued. "It turns out, Ginevra is Draco's mate, and he was trying to tell her that tonight. Needless to say, it didn't go very well." Ron stayed silent through all of Pansy's explanation of what a mate was, exactly, and Pansy gently grasped his hand. "Are you ok, Ron? I know this is a lot to take in at once."

"I just wish Gin would have told me, that's all," Ron replied absentmindedly. "Wait, so how did a regular wizard get a mate?"

Pansy stared at him for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. "Well ... Ron ... I thought you knew ... Draco's a ... uhm ... Draco's a vampyre."

"Oh, well, that makes sense ... A VAMPYRE!" Pansy winced, expecting Ron to become even more vocal. She was not disappointed. "A VAMPYRE! AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO MENTION IT TO ME! 'OH HEY, RON, THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW YOUR SISTER IS DATING AN IMMORTAL BRINGER OF DEATH!"

Pansy bristled a bit. "Hey, I'm immortal!"

"Pansy! THIS IS ABOUT MY BABY SISTER DATING A ... A ... A VAMPYRE!" Ron raked his hands through his hair several times as he paced back and forth across the room. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT THIS!"

"Ron ... the first step would be to calm down."

Ron took deep breaths, mimicking Ginevra's earlier actions. "I can't believe it... This is just crazy..."

Pansy moved forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I know you're mad, but it could be worse."

Ron deflated slightly, his hands coming to rest on Pansy's hips. "Worse?" he asked, hoarsely. "How could any of this be any worse? And ... gods, Pans ... she didn't even tell me. I thought we were on better terms now ... I guess not."

Pansy's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh, no, Ron, don't think that! She probably just didn't know how to tell you."

Ron sighed. "Tomorrow, I'll ask her about it tomorrow. She looks dreadful. I wonder what happened between Draco and her?"

Pansy laughed humorlessly, laying her head against Ron's chest. "There's nothing to wonder about, darling. It's a simple fact that Draco fucked something up and, in the morning, you and I are going to go pick up the pieces and try to glue it all back together."

"Used to mothering them, are you, Pans?" Ron asked wryly, wrapping an arm around her.

She smiled a soft smile up at him, but it faded quickly. "We've only ever had each other. When we were younger, during the summers … Lucius and Derek would get angry and take it all out on Draco and Blaise. Everyone was just supposed to turn a blind eye to it, I guess. They had their bedroom fireplace floo's connected directly to mine … I don't even want to think about how many times they showed up at all hours of the night, bloody, broken… I knew as much as a Healer's assistant before I even entered Hogwarts." Ron tightened his hold on her, but said nothing, appreciating her need for him to just listen. "By the time the war rolled around, I was more experienced than any Healer because I could heal the kind of dark magick that the Death Eaters actually used. And they damn near got themselves killed in that fucking war." She buried her face in Ron's neck and seemed to be fighting tears for a few moments, before taking a deep, but shaky breath. "So you're damn straight I'm used to mothering them; but that's the understatement of the century," she finished with an almost inaudible chuckle.

Ron turned Pansy's head into his shoulder and held it there, saying nothing. Internally, he was jumping for joy that she had confided in him, but he didn't want to scare her off. Instead, he said softly, "I'm glad you felt you could trust me with this." After a while of just standing there, holding each other, Ron looked up and caught sight of the clock. "Pans … it's late … I guess I should … go."

"Couldn't you … erm … never mind …"

"Pans? What is it?"

"Well I just thought … maybe you wanted to stay?" When he didn't answer for a long moment, Pansy continued, "Not like that … I just … I know you're going to toss and turn all night and I'll be doing the same. So, I figure we have a better chance of actually getting some sleep if we're together … you know, because I'm calmer when you're here, I think and …"

"Pansy?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like me to spend the night here?"

"Yes," she whispered in response, wondering if she'd made the right choice in asking him to stay.

"Then we've only one more problem."

"What's that?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare toothbrush?" Pansy laughed out loud, pulling Ron down to plant a firm kiss on his smiling lips.

… … …

"Not today, Stacey!"

"Aww, Blaisey, why not?" Blaise brushed Stacey's reaching fingers away impatiently.

"Because I'm not in the mood." Stacey sat back on her heels, her robes falling open to reveal her scant clothing beneath.

"You're always in the mood!" She pouted. "Besides, I want to fuck!"

Blaise sighed, giving the idea of just going along with her suggestion a moment's thought. But when he looked at her, he saw her clear blue eyes that held nothing but a vapid stare, and he thought her blonde hair to be nothing but bright in an irritating sort of way. "Goodbye, Stacey."

Ignoring her whining, he stood and walked out of the room, shaking his head. What was wrong with him? He thought about going back to his dorm, but Draco had left earlier in the evening and Pansy was undoubtedly reading. His thoughts strayed to a certain short squib, and he pulled his mental emergency break. 'You don't even know her name, there, buddy,' he said to himself rashly. 'She's not attractive, not even cute, and she's obstinate and rude and-' Blaise might have been able to believe himself more if his feet weren't already carrying him towards the door and his hands not already starting a disillusionment charm.

………

Blaise wandered to the field near the Shrieking Shack, foregoing the drinks tonight. He found the rock they'd sat on before, empty. Sitting down, Blaise leaned back on his arms, wondering if he would ever see the girl again. He'd been back before, and she was never here, so he'd almost lost hope. Not that it mattered to him particularly. Nope, not at all.

"You again."

Blaise jumped and turned around; shocked that someone had been able to sneak up on him. Upon seeing the same long hair and dark eyes peeking out from beneath, he couldn't fight the smile that flickered over his face. 'I should really stop lying to myself about things,' he thought sagely. He noted that even while he was sitting and the girl was standing, he was still the same height as her. "Nice to see you too, dearie."

"You've been here nearly every night for the past week," she stated simply. She walked over to him, sitting down on the flat rock next to the boulder he was sitting on.

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Blaise turned to look at her as she laid back on her rock, staring up at the night sky. He decided, absently, that she looked very much like a pagan goddess. Her long hair was fanned out behind her, revealing dark skin and eyes that were darker than should have been allowed.

"It's a public rock," she stated calmly, not looking at him.

Blaise also leaned back, the wind brushing the tendrils of her hair across his face with every breeze. "I suppose."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until the girl sat up, looking at Blaise curiously. "Why are you here?"

Blaise regarded her carefully. Truthfully, there was nowhere else he'd rather be, but he settled for, "Because I choose to be."

The girl continued to stare at him, then accepted his answer, relaxing once more. After a few minutes, she surprised him with a low murmur. "I usually come out here every night. You're the first person I've ever met."

"Not many people consider a cold rock situated next to a haunted old house a very good place to relax," Blaise replied softly. It felt strange and wrong to disturb the peace of the forest.

"That shack isn't really haunted, you know."  
"What makes you say that?" He knew quite well it wasn't haunted, but only because Severus had told him what it had been used for during his time at school. 'Bloody Potters,' Blaise added, to himself.

"I've been there … lots of times. And besides, all those people who do things to 'provoke the spirits' are really only provoking the wood nymphs, not anything that lives in that house. The only thing left there is a lot of bugs and a family or two of mice."

"You're very brave, you know."

She looked down. "I'm not fearless by any means."

"I never said you were," Blaise said thoughtfully, sitting up. "But you're brave all the same." He could've sworn he had seen a faint hint of pink in her cheeks before she turned away.

"The only reason I even came here is for that," she motioned towards the outline of Hogwarts in the distance. Blaise said nothing, waiting for her to elaborate, and she did so with a sigh. "I can see what others my age do, where other witches and wizards go. It... Reminds me."

"Reminds you of what?" Blaise asked softly. It was odd to hear her speak with such a complete lack of emotion in her voice. She seemed to have accepted what she saw as her fate.

"Reminds me that I'm not like them."

"No, you're not," Blaise said decisively, startling her. "And don't always think it's such a bad thing."

The girl beside him turned away quickly. "I... I have to go. Bye, Blaise."

Blaise was so startled by his name falling from her lips that she was several feet away before he even reacted. "Wait!" he yelled to her retreating back. "I don't even know your name!"

She turned, regarding him with a small smile that lit up her dark eyes. "It's Alanna." And then she was gone.

Jess: _For whoever is unaware, is no longer allowing review answering, which is depressing as all get out. Fortunately, Pia and I still have a few tricks up our sleeves, so if any of you have a question, please don't hesitate to ask and if we feel that it needs explaining, we will include it in the chapter… guess you'll just have to wait to find out how! Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter… Blaise is moving more and more into his own, which I am very happy about. Draco and Gin still have quite a bit to work out though! To all our newer readers, I'm sorry we couldn't respond to you more, but Pia and I do read and consider all comments and thoughts in reviews! To our loyal reviewers, we heart you all a great deal, and we hope you stick with us!_


	15. 14: Confessions

_Just fixing a few bugs… disregard if you've already read this chappie!_

_Ah, this would be the chapter where the story earns its rating. If you don't want to read that, do not read anything between the first and second dividers._

"Pans? Are you here?" Ron poked his head into Pansy's dormitory and sighed, rather exasperatedly, when he realized she wasn't there. He walked in and shut the door softly behind him, leaning back on it for a moment. He'd been looking for Pansy all day; something in the way she'd rushed out of the room after Blaise had him worried. Striding over to the fireplace, he dropped rather gracelessly onto the couch, having decided to stay there and wait for her to return. The door opened just as he sat, and he quickly jumped back to his feet, but slid, half falling over in an effort to stay upright. He looked up into Draco's quizzical eyes and sighed. "Oh, it's just you."

Draco smirked and feigned sadness. "That hurts Weasley, it really does." Ron returned the smirk half-heartedly in response, and he and Draco both took seats on the couch. After a moment, however, Draco stood up again and walked out of the room, only to return moments later with two tumblers full of Firewhiskey. He handed one to Ron and, in a bored tone, said, "Cheers." Ron stared at his glass as Draco tipped his up and drank it down in one long gulp.

"What's wrong, Weasley? Does the little Gryff have a drinking problem?"

"Only when I'm sure it's poisoned."

Draco laughed, grabbing Ron's glass and draining it himself. "I'll get you another." Having returned to the room with another glassful for Ron and himself, he settled himself comfortably on the couch. "So, what exactly happened between you and Pansy this morning?"

Ron shifted, trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get him killed. "Errr... How do you drink all that stuff without getting a bit tipsy yourself?" He asked quickly, noting Draco's finishing of another glass in record time. "Does it take longer to go through your system because you're a vampyre?"

Draco froze, the glass falling from his hand to land harmlessly on the couch beside him. "Ginevra told you."

"No, she probably should have, but Pansy told me."

"You going to challenge me to a duel or something for going after your sister? Or are you just going to beat me up like you did Potter?"

"Neither, actually… I figure we're kind of even. Besides, Gin trusts you; that's good enough for me. You hurt her, though, and I'll slit your fucking throat. Vampyre or not."

"Understood," Draco stated, after a moment of silence.

"Good." Ron stared dejectedly at his glass for a moment, before downing it in one gulp. It burned his throat, seeming to scald his insides all the way down. But, with a grimace, he held out his glass for Draco to pour him more.

Draco lifted an eyebrow, reaching for the bottle. "I know you haven't gone soft or anything," Draco started, pouring him only half a glass while Ron scowled. "I can look at Potter and see that. So what the fuck is wrong with you?" He swigged from the bottle, smacking his lips when he was finished and never taking his eyes off of Ron.

Ron pondered the irony of chatting about his relationship over drinks with Draco Malfoy the vampyre for a moment, then sighed. "I don't think Pansy wants to go any further with me."

Draco winced. "Tell me you don't mean what I think you mean."

"Get over it; I heard Blaise yelling just the same as you did. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"So he was telling the truth then? Not just spewing nonsense?"

"Yeah. He walked in on Pansy and I and she's been avoiding me since."

"Wait, hold on. Walked in on you … as in … you were snogging?" 'Please Merlin, please tell me they were only snogging,' Draco added silently. Ron cleared his throat and started to fiddle nervously with his now-empty glass. Draco winced. "So that's what Blaise meant by natural redhead."

"What!"

"Oh, never mind. Wait, so you almost... Oh, not that I want to think about it, but did she tell you she's a virgin?"

Ron dropped the glass and it shattered on the hard floor below him. "What the hell!"

"You didn't know! Oh fuck … what the hell was she thinking?" Draco asked no one in particular. "You really didn't know!"

"Hell no! Do you think I would have done that if I'd fucking known!" Ron stood up abruptly and paced to the other side of the room, crunching the bits of his shattered glass into even smaller pieces as he stepped on them. "Why would she …"

Just then, Pansy walked through the door. "Why would she what? And who the hell got glass everywhere?"

Draco got up immediately, striding over to her with a very dark look on his face. "Care to explain what the hell is going on with you and Weasley?"

Pansy opened her mouth, but never got to say anything, as Ron, who still hadn't turned around, interrupted. "Draco, please go."

"Weasley this is—"

"You'll have your chance later; I need to talk to her now." After a moment of deliberation, Draco strode out of the room, still looking rather unnerved.

Pansy turned to face Ron with her hands on her hips. "Since when does Draco listen to you?"

"Never mind that," Ron replied impatiently with a wave of dismissal. "Are you really a virgin?"

Pansy's mouth fell open in a very un-Slytherin-like way and she stared at Ron for a long moment before regaining her composure and turning so he couldn't see her face. Ron was almost sure there were tears in her eyes and her voice was shaky when she asked, "Does it really matter?"

"Sweetie," Ron said, immediately reaching for her hands when he saw that she'd gotten the wrong idea. "I didn't mean-"

"Oh yeah? Well, what did you mean?" Pansy demanded, yanking her hands away. "You think just because I'm a virgin, I'm not experienced enough or something? Yeah, that's probably it, or maybe that I'll expect some commitment?"

"Now wait just a second, Pansy," Ron said angrily. "When have I ever not-"

"You know what, it probably doesn't even matter to you that maybe, just maybe, I might have-"

"What?" Ron asked, anger wiped away as she trailed off. "Might have what?"

Pansy's voice was barely above a whisper when she breathed the next few words. "Fallen in love with you." Then she turned with a sob and ran away, leaving Ron with a goofy smile on his face.

* * *

Then he looked up and saw she was gone. "Pans, wait!" he yelled as he started after her. But before Ron had gotten very far, he ran straight into Blaise, who was glaring daggers at him.

"What the fuck did you do, Weasley?" He spat the name with such disgust that it sounded like an insult, something only Blaise and Draco had ever been able to accomplish. But Ron didn't even notice, he still had a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"She's in love with me!"

"In love with you or not, you better go fucking fix it or I'll spill your god damned guts." Blaise shoved Ron down the hallway in the direction Pansy had disappeared, sobbing, moments earlier.

"Pansy!" Ron jogged quickly and easily caught up to her, then pulled her behind a tapestry so they wouldn't be seen.

"Ron, you know-"

"Ssh.." Ron covered her mouth with a finger and she tried to mumble, only to have Ron silence her again, this time with a quick kiss. He grinned at her when he pulled away, but his grin faded a bit when he saw how distressed she was. "Pansy … I was upset you didn't tell me you were a virgin because I don't think you should be giving your virginity to someone like me. I don't deserve you," he finished somberly.

"What?" Pansy gasped. "What the hell are you talking about!"

Ron sighed, but just shook his head, "If you'd rather we stop things where they are, that's fine... We don't have to go any fur- Mmphf!" Unfortunately, whatever Ron had to say to Pansy was cut off as she kissed him greedily. After a long moment of indecision, Ron pulled away reluctantly, despite Pansy's protests. "Pans," he whispered breathlessly.

"What?"

"Are you sure? We don't have to—"

"Ron, I told you. I'm in love with you, you great prat. It's you and no one else. I'm damn sure."

Ron's goofy grin returned full-force as he pulled Pansy to him, kissing her as passionately as he had that day by the lake. He smiled against her lips when he felt her lean on him a bit more – her knees were getting a bit weak, after all – and pulled her flush up against him. But suddenly, he pulled away. She looked up at him half-frustrated, half-confused. "What now?" she asked, exasperatedly.

"No dusty alcoves for you, darling. Come on." With that, he grabbed her hand and led her back out of the alcove and towards the Slytherin dormitories.

As they walked in, Draco and Blaise were sitting on the couch in Pansy's room, but upon seeing their expressions and entwined hands, Blaise screamed. "No, no, not again!"

With that, he ran out, leaving Draco to chuckle lightly and follow at a more sedate pace, tossing back over his shoulders, "Use a charm, kiddies."

Pansy turned to look at Ron suddenly, eyes wide and mouth open. "Ron! This morning … oh gods! We wouldn't have cast a … oh Merlin!" Ron suddenly became rather interested in his shoes, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "What?"

"I … erm … well …" He held up his right hand and showed her the small, signet ring there, with what looked to be the Weasley family crest. Pansy gave him a confused look, so he continued; "Fred and George charmed it on me … as a joke … and stuff … it's a contraceptive ring…"

Pansy chuckled softly, grabbing Ron by the arms and pulling him close. "Your little Weasley buggers can beat regular contraceptive charms, eh?"

"You're damn straight. You think my mother kept trying after Percy?"

Pansy laughed, touching her lips gently to Ron's. "You have no idea how glad I am for that," she whispered against his mouth, slowly drawing his shirt up by running her hands along his sides. "No idea at all." Ron smirked a very Slytherin-like smirk as he lifted his arms so Pansy could pull his shirt over his head, simultaneously kicking off his shoes. His shirt disappeared into some corner of the room a moment before Pansy's unbelievably hot hands started to explore his chest, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, and making Ron's jeans much tighter than they had been moments prior. He dipped his head and met her lips in a fiery kiss. She reached for the waistband of his jeans, almost immediately, which, had Ron been able to form a single coherent thought, would have amused him. But when her hands met the waistband of his skivvies – his jeans were long gone by that point – the reality of what they were doing finally came rushing back to him. He pulled back, panting, and took her wrists in his hands, pulling her hands away.

"Pans…" he gasped.

She looked up at him with half-scared, half-dazed eyes. "What is it, Ron?" He smiled down at her, and then dipped his head to place several lazy kisses on the side of her neck. Her head fell to the side, giving him better access. He felt her swallow hard and then heard her whisper, "Ron?"

He let his eyes fall shut as he stopped kissing her neck, keeping his mouth close to her skin as he said, "I want this to be all about you … do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"But Ron, I want …" She struggled effortlessly to free her wrists from his grasp. "I want … I want you to … come too," she finished finally, in a very timid voice.

Ron smiled against her neck. "Trust me when I tell you that this … just you ... will be more than enough." He pressed his hips against hers even tighter to emphasize his point. They both gasped at the friction it caused.

"But Ron," Pansy started dubiously, still breathing heavily. "I've heard so much that says-"

"Never mind what people say," Ron said in a low voice, almost a growl. Flipping her neatly over to her back on the bed, he began to open her school robes, kissing his way down her collarbone as Pansy moaned, clutching his hair even as she protested.

"But Ron-"

He pinched her side where he knew she was ticklish, picking up his head to give her a mischievous look. "No buts, Pansy … well," his hand snaked around her back to cup her ass, "maybe this one." Pansy's giggle melted into a moan as the hand that had pinched her side skirted up to brush the side of her breast, through her bra. Pulling Pansy to sit up slightly, Ron pushed her robe off her shoulders and unclasped her bra with one swift movement. Pansy gasped when he removed her bra and the cold air of the room hit her hot skin.

Ron focused on Pansy's face as he began to toy with her nipple, and Pansy's protests quickly turned into moans. He let his hand slide lower, till it reached the waistband of her pants. "Trust me, Pansy," he whispered as his hand slipped inside and she gasped. "I'm going to make this good for you, and you don't need to worry about anything." Just as she was about to speak, Ron caressed her in the most sensitive of places and Pansy could no longer find the ability to speak, or even think as she writhed under Ron's sure touch. Her back arched, seemingly of its own accord, pushing her hips against Ron's hand. But he stubbornly moved it away, refusing to touch her with more than little, teasing caresses.

"Ron," she moaned, desperately.

"Yes?"

"Please, Ron … too slow," came the breathless reply. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand completely; Pansy's head came up off the pillow and she whimpered pitifully. "Ron!"

"Shh," Ron murmured, as he pulled her pants and knickers off in one swift pull. Pansy shivered involuntarily, both at the temperature of the room and at the look Ron was giving her. His eyes raked over her naked form; they had darkened from their normal cobalt blue to a deep navy colour. "Pans … are you sure?" he hissed.

"The point of no return," she murmured breathlessly, before returning his intense, hungry gaze and nodding. "Yes." Had she been slightly more coherent, she might have appreciated Ron's courtesy a little more, but as it was, she wanted nothing more than for him to be inside her. He leaned back up to kiss her slowly, lovingly, and yet, at the same time, it lacked no passion or fire. At some point during the kiss, he'd managed to divest himself of his boxers, and when Pansy felt his achingly hard cock brush against her own throbbing sex, she moaned loudly into his mouth, digging her fingernails into the skin of his back.

He broke off the kiss, turning his head to trail kisses down her neck. "It's going to hurt a little, but relax. I'll be careful," he murmured against her skin. Pansy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Ron reached down and positioned himself at her entrance and began easing in, slowly. Pansy began to feel tight, stretched and eyes that had been closed now clenched at the painful sensation. Ron leaned up and kissed her lightly on the nose, cheeks, and neck. Finally, he stilled his movements, allowing her to adjust to the feeling. "Pans," Ron started, gritting his teeth in an effort to hold himself back. "Are you sure this is a good idea? You're just-"

"Just nothing," Pansy said, taking a deep breath. "Please, Ron, don't stop." Ron looked down at Pansy, raising an eyebrow and causing her to giggle. "Fine," she said, "if you won't keep going, I will." With that, she wrapped her legs around his waist, causing them both to gasp as he slid even deeper into her.

"Oh, gods, Pansy," Ron moaned, burying his face in her neck. "I can't keep holding back..."

Pansy smirked, tightening her legs around him, much to his chagrin. "Then don't."

With that, Ron began thrusting smoothly into her, and any discomfort she may have felt was counteracting by his hands, skimming her shoulders, his mouth brushing her neck, and the intense pleasure that began to wrack her body. "Ron?" Pansy whispered in alarm as she felt herself begin to quake. Now it was Ron who smirked.

"Yes?" Pansy suddenly found herself unable to formulate words as she continued to tremble, and she cried out in ecstasy, running her nails along his back. Ron grinned, leaning close to her ear. "Who do you want, Pansy? Who do you love?" Pansy moaned louder, and Ron continued in his cajoling voice. "Tell me, Pans. Tell me!"

"You!" Pansy screamed, unable to take anymore as her world exploded. She cried out his name again and again, and with a final smirk, Ron finally let himself go.

* * *

Pansy hummed in contentment as she slowly returned to earth. She could feel Ron's lips and tongue tracing lazy patterns on her neck and she ran her fingers lazily through his hair. After several long moments, she tugged gently on his hair and he complied by lifting his head enough so that she could see his face. She couldn't stop the goofy grin that wormed its way onto her lips. "Hi," she whispered.

Ron chuckled and Pansy felt it more than heard it. "Hi." He tilted his head forward and kissed her tenderly.

"Is it always like that?" she asked, somewhat timidly.

Ron smiled a true and genuine smile. "Pansy," he started in a serious tone, "It's _never_ been like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, when it's with someone you truly care about, its so, _so_ much better." His smile melted into a pleased smirk. "Not that you'll ever have the opportunity to test that for yourself, so long as I'm alive."

Pansy stared at him, wide-eyed, for a moment, before she found her voice. "I'm not sure I understand what you're saying…"

Ron gave her a serious look as he brought his hand up to trace the line of her jaw. "I'm sure you do." He kissed her passionately, pouring all of his love and promise into it. But when he felt her hands start to explore his chest, he took her wrists in his hands and, stilling her movements, broke the kiss. At seeing her petulant look and the way she wriggled, Ron chuckled again. "You're already going to hate me in the morning. I think you'll rather appreciate it if you're able to walk." She rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't stop her smile. "Right then, let's get some sleep. Unless you're going to chuck me out on my arse?"

Pansy laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not on your life, but I just might make you find us some more blankets. You're a cover hog, did you know?"

"As the lady wishes." Ron kissed her on the cheek lightly before climbing out of bed. He disappeared into the wardrobe and came out, moments later, with a stack of blankets. After spreading them out on the bed, he got back in and Pansy immediately snuggled up to him. With a wave of the wand he had retrieved from inside the wardrobe – although he'd had no guess as to how it got there – he extinguished the candles.

Pansy sighed contentedly as her eyes drifted closed; her head was pillowed on Ron's chest, with his arms wrapped around her and one of her legs in between his. "G'night, Ron." She yawned and murmured, "Love you."

Ron kissed the top of her head as his own eyes started to drift closed. "Love you, too … And I am _not_ a cover hog." Pansy giggled into his chest and snuggled closer.

* * *

Ginevra stared at the impossibly dark wood of the door in front of her. She'd no idea how long she'd been standing there, staring at it, nor did she really want to know. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly; it had been one thing discussing this with Pansy. It was a completely different thing to actually have to talk to Draco about what she knew would be an extremely touchy subject. His voice startled her, "Are you just going to stand outside my door all day, or are you going to come in and talk to me, Ginevra?" She glared hard at the door, as if it had somehow betrayed her position, before turning the handle and walking into the dimly lit room. Draco was sitting in an armchair, a half-empty glass of Firewhiskey in his hand. He didn't look up at her as she walked in, and she sat in the chair next to him with some trepidation.

"How did you know I was there?"

"I can hear breathing through the door," he looked as if he were about to say something more, but then stopped, taking a healthy swig of Firewhiskey.

"How did you know it was me, though?"

He glanced up at her quickly, before his eyes became glued to the floor again. "I know your scent. What do you want?"

"Draco, I think we need to talk."

He laughed humorlessly. "Really? Not sure what gave you that idea." He raised the glass to his lips and downed the rest of it in one swallow, grimacing as it burned down his throat.

Ginevra turned in her seat to face him. "Draco, I-"

"Oh, I think I know what you're trying to say." Ginevra opened her mouth to talk, but Draco didn't notice. "I mean, I don't really know what I was expecting … I guess I hoped that … but it doesn't really matter now, does it?" His tone turned bitter. "Don't worry; I'm not going to hunt you down or anything stupid like that … Pansy insisted that it had to be consensual, so that would really be pointless. You know I thought that, being a Gryff and all, you're supposed to be known for being good people or what-ever-the-fuck you call it. But I guess that doesn't extend to a slimy snake like me does it? Because I'm just a Malfoy and the apple never falls far from the tree, so I must just be my father's little puppet and nothing more, isn't that—" Draco was cut off by Ginevra's slapping him across the cheek. Hard. But before he could say anything, she grabbed him roughly by his hair on either side of his head and kissed him passionately. When she finally pulled back, they were both panting. She sat down on his lap, straddling him, and nuzzled his neck.

"You silly, snarly, stupid man," she whispered, as she started to place small kisses on his neck.

"Gin?" Draco croaked.

She pulled back, her arms still around his neck, and smiled sweetly at him as she toyed with his hair. "Yes?"

"What are you …"

She giggled quietly. "I didn't come here to tell you to bugger off, my silly little lummox."

"You," Draco swallowed hard. "You didn't?"

"No … I came here to tell you that … well … I think I'm in love with you." Draco's mouth fell open in the most un-Malfoy-ish way, which only caused Ginevra's smile to widen. "You silly, silly man." After a few moments, her smile took on a more mischievous edge. "Are you just going to sit there and stare at me? Or are you going to kiss me?" Draco's stunned expression melted into a smirk as he claimed her lips in a heated kiss.

* * *

Blaise jogged as he approached the rock, aware that he was later tonight than he normally was. He'd been held up by Filch, and it had taken some time to leave unnoticed. Blaise was actually more surprised than anything; it had been a long time since any teacher had caught him. He was usually so much more careful, but now there was a driving need to see her, to talk to her…

Recently, Blaise had been talking to Alanna almost every night, sneaking out of school to come and sit with her for hours. He told her everything, even some things he didn't tell Draco, and she confided in him as well. He felt her pain as she spoke about some of the experiences she'd had as a Squib, and she responded with equal rage when he told her about the stereotypical beliefs wizards kept of vampyres. Blaise marveled at how angered she could get on his behalf, though she had no way to follow through with her threats and she knew it. Her bluster only endeared her to him more.

He sighed as the empty rock came into view. Not quite willing to go back to school just yet, he sat down, wondering at how little he saw Draco and Pansy around lately, how Alanna was doing, what that shape flying out of the darkness was…

Leaping to his feet, he braced himself, holding his hands up to fend off the enemy. For the briefest moment, thoughts of Alanna flooded his mind, if she'd been hurt by this thing, or worse. Because of this dark mindset he was in, Blaise was thoroughly shocked when the shape flying into his arms began giggling.

"Alanna?"

She laughed, and then squirmed when he tightened his hold on her. "Ah, Blaise, I was just-"

"Oh gods, Alanna, you worried me!"

Seeing his serious stare, Alanna stopped squirming while Blaise continued to hold her aloft easily. "Blaise…" she started slowly her eyes sparkling as she stared at him, his face inches from hers. "Why?" she asked him softly, becoming more aware of how close they were, and all the places their bodies made contact. "Why did I worry you?"

"I don't know, Alanna," Blaise said, focusing on her mouth as he spoke. "I really don't know…" he trailed as off he met her eyes again, then brought their faces closer together when she said nothing more, just bit her lower lip. It was then he realized something monumental, and it was nothing as simple as love; indeed, Blaise already knew he loved her, just as he loved Pansy and Draco. Seeing her in his arms, he realized how whole-heartedly she trusted him, for with no powers, she had truly left her life in his hands. For once, Blaise felt as though he was responsible for someone besides himself, and it didn't annoy him as he thought it might have once.

_And if I screw this up?_ Blaise asked himself. _If I kiss her and ruin everything, what then? _He'd confided so much in her, he knew he could probably never bare his soul so thoroughly again. Blaise noted Alanna's quickened breathing, and absently brushed her nose with his own, coming close enough that their breath mingled before pulling away.

"Blaise?" Alanna asked, her hands tensing on his shoulders. "What's wrong? Is it because I'm-"

Before she could finish her statement, Blaise slid her down his body so she felt… well, everything. Her eyes widened, and before she could say anything, Blaise touched a finger to her lips.

"Never think that. I don't care if you're a Squib; In fact, at this point, I don't even know that I'd care if you were a Muggle." Blaise smiled at her skeptical look before continuing. "I want you, but I want all of you. And I want you to have all of me. But, at this point, I don't want to do anything to mess this up, because I need you, and I don't know what I'd do if-"

"'If" will never happen," Alanna interrupted softly. "You'll have me, Blaise, whenever you need me."

"Ah, but that's not enough," Blaise said lightly, burying his face in her shoulder. "It won't be enough."

Alanna said nothing, knowing that this was all Blaise would tell her on the subject even though she was puzzled by his cryptic words. The two sat holding each other for hours, neither of them speaking, but both deep in thought.

* * *

Severus Snape was sitting awake, thinking idly of how Draco, Blaise, and Pansy were progressing. Since Blaise had come to see him last, he didn't see any real improvement in their relationship, and it intrigued him. Snape looked up, hiding his surprise at seeing the figure in the doorway, apparently turned to leave.

"Blaise. Just when I'm sure I've gotten rid of you, you pop in to deepen my misery."

"Well, you know, the little ray of sunshine that I am." Blaise smirked, but his eyes held none of their usual sparkle. He meandered around Snape's office, playing idly with a bottle of potion ingredient here or there.

Snape said nothing, giving Blaise a penetrating stare. "Something's wrong. Tell me." Blaise didn't look at him, but Snape saw him stiffen ever so slightly. He opened his mouth, as if he were about to say something, but promptly closed it again. "For the love of Salazar, boy, don't learn to keep your mouth shut now."

Blaise's expression hardened and he slammed the bottle of newt's eyes back onto the table. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Snape rose smoothly from his desk, moving forward to tower over Blaise. "To the contrary..." Snape let the comment hang menacingly in the air.

There was a long, silent moment of indecision, before Blaise turned away from him. "It's late, I need to be getting to bed."

"I think you passed the 'late' mark when the sun rose," Snape said, not allowing Blaise to pass him. "I'll ask you once more, then I'll make use of my vast store of truth serums. What is wrong?" Snape said slowly, enunciating every word.

"You obviously can't tell where you're not wanted, old man." Blaise shoved past him and out of his office, slamming the door behind him. Snape stared at the door for several minutes, trying to figure out what could have possibly upset the young man so much.

Jes_: I'd apologize for the long break in between postings, but doubtless it would be tiresome to hear again. I'd just like to clarify, we WILL finish this story, no matter what. Therefore, no more questions if we've given up on it: definitely not going to happen. One thing I will say, in a shameless effort of self promotion, reviews may speed up our writing process… heh heh… Also, Pia and I have both been posting some of our separate work onto this account, so if you like Bleed Like Me, do have a look at what elements we are each responsible for!_


	16. 15: High Tensions

_This is a repost, and I apologize! We may not be updating for a while, and I'd just like to be sure everyone knows that they can get updates on fic progress in my Livejournal, the link to which is in our profile. Thanks, and sorry to bother you guys!_

* * *

"Ron, pass the milk. Ron? RONALD!" 

"What!" Ron jumped. "Yes, yes, whatever you say."

"Ron," Ginevra said with a barely contained grin. "Hermione wants you to pass her the milk."

Ron looked over at the milk pitcher, which rested about a foot from his hand. "Sorry, can't reach it."

"Real mature, Ron," Pansy said as she walked up with Draco and Blaise in tow. Ron grinned smugly as Pansy continued. "Perhaps you and Ginevra would care to join us?" Ron looked up and gave Pansy a smirk, making her blush fiercely, but no one seemed to notice, or, if they did, no one made any comment about it.

"They cannot simply leave their house table."

Draco smirked, grabbing Ginevra's hand and pulling her to her feet. "On the contrary, Granger. They can sit at any table that extends them an invitation." He turned his gaze to Ginevra and his expression softened. "Good morning, love." He kissed the top of her hand. "Sleep well?"

Ginevra smiled dreamily and murmured, "Mmhmm." Draco chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist as he kissed her temple.

"Malfoy!"

Draco paused, the warmth in his eyes immediately dissipating. "What the hell do you want, Potter?"

"I just want to know why you have your arm anywhere around our Gin-"

Ginevra began to protest angrily, but surprisingly, it was Blaise who first spoke. "She's not your Gin anymore, Potter. She's ours." With that, Pansy gently pulled Ron up, then the group turned as a whole and walked to the Slytherin table, Ginevra looking at Blaise curiously.

They all sat down; Ginevra in between Blaise and Draco, with Pansy and Ron across from them. Ginevra waited until Ron and Draco were involved in a heated debate over who was going to win the Quidditch World Cup, and Pansy was talking to Millicent, who was seated on her other side, before turning to Blaise. "Yours, eh?"

Blaise didn't meet her eyes as he replied, "Ours. Slytherins protect their own, Ginevra. Surely you knew that before you got involved."

"I didn't realize I was considered 'their own', yet."

He sighed and finally looked her in the eye. "Look, Gin …" After a moment of pregnant silence, he stood up, pulling her up with him. "Hey, Draco, I'm borrowing your girlfriend for a minute." Draco looked up; brow furrowed, but after seeing Blaise's honest, open expression, he nodded and went back to his discussion with Ron. Blaise pulled Ginevra out of the Great Hall and into a little alcove a little ways down the hallway that was hidden from view by a large tapestry. "Alright, this whole mate thing … I'm the first to admit it's a little weird. And at first, I didn't want it to be true because I thought Drake was going to be mooning over you night and day. But he's not and he won't. If being with you is what makes him happy, then, by all means, make him happy. Gods know I can stand to have at least one night a week where I'm not woken up to keening cries of 'GINNYYYY! SHAG MEEE!'." Blaise chuckled at Ginevra's wide-eyed expression. "Come on, let's go before Draco gets paranoid and thinks I'm stealing you away from him."

… … …

Ginevra was standing at one of the desks in the Potions classroom, waiting for Pansy, Ron, Draco, and Blaise. Snape allowed the Slytherins to use the classroom as they wished, and Draco, Blaise, and Pansy were going to be helping out Ron and Ginevra. She was just setting up her cauldron when she heard a faint noise.

"Ron? Draco?" Ginevra called out uncertainly. "Is that you?" She heard a soft shuffle near the door and spun around. The door slowly swung open, but there was no one standing there. "Blaise? Pansy?" There was no answer. "Come on, Ron! Draco, this isn't funny! Blaise, stop playing games!" The shuffling had stopped, but there was still no one there. And yet, Ginevra had the strangest feeling that she wasn't completely alone in the room. She groped in her pocket for a moment, before her heart sank; she had no wand. She recalled absently that it was on the opposite side of the room, where she'd thrown her robes. She started to inch towards her robes, but before she'd made it two feet, she heard a vaguely familiar voice whisper "_Stupefy_". And her world went black.

"Alright, alright," a cloaked figure hustled out of the darkness, motioning to the now prone Ginevra. "Grab her before her buddies come along."

Another shape appeared, glancing around nervously. "Let's just get her out of here. I always hated this room."

Just as the two had finally approached Ginevra, who was facedown, they both heard laughing and whirled around.

"Ron, come on, we're late enough as it is!"

"And honestly, haven't you two had enough moments as we were walking down the hall?"

"Shit," one of the figures muttered. "We'll have to try this another time. Let's go."

Just as Draco opened the door, there was a loud crack, and he saw nothing but Ginevra, still facedown. "No," he breathed, running forward and dropping to his knees beside her. Pulling her into his lap, he began to stroke her face, crooning softly in her ear as Ron, Pansy, and Blaise stepped into the room, Ron crying out and rushing to their side.

"Ginevra, Gin, wake up, please..." Ginevra moaned slightly as she heard Draco's frantic voice, and, with some effort, reached up to touch her head, hearing gasps of what sounded like relief in the background. "Gin, talk to me. Please say something. Gin? Please. Talk to me."

"Draco," she moaned quietly.

"I'm right here, Gin. Right here. Everything's going to be just fine."

"My head hurts," she murmured in a tired, barely audible voice.

"Ginevra, who did this to you?" Ron asked in a soft, but fierce tone.

"What happened?" Blaise knelt down on the opposite side of Draco and Ron, his brow furrowed and his eyes blazing as he stared down at Ginevra.

"Gin, talk to us. Tell us what happened, darling," Draco murmured softly. Ginevra moaned pitifully, turning to bury her face in Draco's stomach.

"All three of you stop it right now!" Pansy's voice was soft enough that it didn't disturb Ginevra, but harsh enough that it made the three men flinch visibly.

"Pans, we're just trying to—" Ron started.

"No, you're not trying anything. Now, Draco you take Ginevra to my room. Blaise, you go find Snape. Ron, you're going to find Madame Pomfrey. Now! Get going!"

Ginevra moaned softly and Draco looked down at her worriedly. "Pansy, what if something else happened here-"

"Draco!" Pansy erupted, then, taking a deep breath, she softened her voice to a cajoling tone. "I know you're worried about Ginevra, just like the rest of us. But there is absolutely nothing we can do for her here, understand? We'll have Snape take a look at her for any curses, and then we'll take it from there, alright?"

Draco scooped Ginevra up as if she weighed nothing, managing to shoot Pansy a glare first. "Let's just go."

… … …

"If you have a question, then ask it. But your incessant _muttering_ is distracting!" Snape glared, momentarily, over his shoulder at Draco, Blaise, and Ron, before turning back around to regard Ginevra. He'd given her a mild calming draught and Madame Pomfrey had administered a sleeping potion before he'd ordered her out of his chambers.

"Hush you three!" Pansy muttered harshly, throwing the three men beside her a dark look. "Severus?"

"I'm not sure, Pansy … as far as I can tell, there's no damage. I would imagine someone attempted to stupefy her and didn't do a very good job of it. Probably a Gryffindor."

"Why do you think it's a Gryffindor? Wouldn't someone from her own house try to help her in the sickening way all Gryffindors do?" Blaise asked snidely. Catching Ron's glare, he quickly adjusted his statement. "Fine, the way most Gryffindors do."

Snape fought the urge to roll his eyes. "It was probably a Gryffindor because no Hufflepuff has the ability to do anything like this, no Slytherin would touch her because they're too afraid of what Draco might do, and a Ravenclaw would have been able to manage a strong stupefy, not this rubbish. Regardless, I don't want anyone going anywhere unescorted until this has been sorted out."

Pansy's hands flew to her hips as her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed, almost involuntarily. "Excuse me, _Severus_? Are we living in the Dark Ages!"

"Leave it to Pansy to get upset about women's rights at a time like this," Draco quipped, stroking Ginevra's hand as she lay before him.

Ron stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Pansy's shoulders. "Well, I for one think that this is an excellent idea. I don't like the thought of you two by yourselves when all these random attacks are happening."

"Ron!" Pansy exclaimed, stepping away from his embrace. "Both Ginevra and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves!"

"Oh?" Blaise asked with a meaningful shrug at the sleeping Ginevra.

"Enough." The four students stopped squabbling and turned to Snape, who was looking down on them with disgust. "I am appalled at how trivial the matters are that you choose to put your energy into. From this point on, no one goes anywhere alone. Period. And Ron," Snape said, turning to face him, "You, Draco, and Blaise will die just as easily from an Avade Kedavra as anyone else. Do not assume for even a second that I believe you are any more or less capable than Pansy or Ginevra. And if we've finished this mindless squabbling?" Snape looked at each of them and, receiving four sheepish looks, continued, "Now, Draco, you'll take Ginevra back to your dormitory and leave her sleep until tomorrow morning. If she's still not feeling well, bring her to me immediately. The rest of you ought to get back to your dormitories before curfew," he finished in a tone that clearly stated he knew none of them ever bothered to observe the curfew. "Ron you spoke of other attacks?" Ron nodded slowly, as if he were unsure of Snape's intent. "I'll see you in my office first thing in the morning, then. I'll need a detailed report of everything you remember. In the mean time, I will be speaking with Professor Dumbledore. Take care that all of you go straight to your dormitories. And, Mr. Weasley, if I thought there was any possibility of you returning to Gryffindor Tower tonight, I would offer to escort you, but I assume that will not be necessary?" Ron blushed to the tips of his ears, but Pansy just smiled sheepishly and shook her head. With a curt nod, Snape turned on his heel and swept out of the room, cloak billowing out behind him, as always.

… … …

Pansy was sitting in an armchair in the Slytherin common room, kicking her leg idly. Such an unnecessary movement was rare for her and only attested further to her discomfiture with the situation. Ginevra was in Draco's room, Draco keeping an eye on her. Blaise had taken off for places unknown to his friends; not an extraordinary event. Ron was sitting across the room, having a stilted conversation with some seventh year Slytherins; most had accepted Ron and Ginevra as their own, bringing Pansy a sense of satisfaction. However, underneath her calm demeanor, her mind was teeming with a whirlwind of thoughts. The fact that Ginevra had been attacked in the walls of Hogwarts attested to the fact that they could no longer be certain of their safety in the building. The fact that it was Ginevra, and not Harry or Ron, however, troubled her more than anything. Whoever was attempting to do her harm was obviously unconcerned about The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Drive-Everyone-Crazy. Unless they had somehow connected Ginevra and Draco... But even then, what had caused such a dislike of Draco? Had someone finally discovered his secret? She was jolted from her maudlin train of thought by Ron's approach. He hadn't come over to chat, though; giving Pansy a kiss on the cheek, he mentioned how he was going to go sit with Ginevra for awhile and then walked away, leaving Pansy to regress back into her mind once more. She jumped slightly when Draco touched her shoulder lightly, sitting down next to her, a few moments later. She looked up at him, and was disturbed to see just how rumpled the normally pristine Slytherin Prince looked. His hair was in a state of utter disarray and his tie was hanging at an odd angle. There were circles beginning to form underneath his eyes and Pansy was quite sure he wouldn't be sleeping peacefully for a while.

"Just how long have you been worried about something like this, Draco?"

He laughed humourlessly. "You don't know?" Pansy shook her head. "She shouldn't even be involved with me Pansy. You and I both know this has nothing to do with Potter. If they wanted to hurt him, they'd attack Granger. If they truly wanted to hurt Weasley, they would've gone after you first." Pansy knew that by 'they' Draco meant the small strings of Death Eaters that had managed to evade Ministry radar and still stirred up a little trouble every now and again.

"As long as you're wallowing in self-pity, I suppose I'll have to stand in as the voice of common sense," Pansy said wearily. "Perhaps rather than taking the coward's way out of the situation, you should try to actually fix the problem."

Draco was silent for a long moment after she said this, signs of his temper beginning to show. The other Slytherins in the room hurriedly made themselves scarce as Draco and Pansy glared at each other, both wizards pushed to the end of their self-control by exhaustion and stress. "Oh..." Draco said in a deceptively soft voice, "the coward's way out, now is it?"

"Yes, the coward's way out. You're too afraid of the pain should, gods forbid, anything happen to Ginevra. You're scared shitless and you don't know what to do about it. So you're running scared."

Suddenly, the bloom of power surrounding Draco made it hard for Pansy to breathe, and she staggered backwards a step as Draco clenched his fists. "Fuck off, Pansy. You have no right..."

"I have no right! Then who does have the right, Draco! Certainly not your mother! You haven't listened to her since you were three! And Blaise agrees with you and all of your idiotic schemes! Ginevra! Does she have the right!"

"Don't speak of her like that!"

"Or what, Draco?" Pansy taunted, sickening even herself as she heard the childish, hurtful words said and could nothing to halt the flow. "Will you finally stand up for her? Or will you leave her to her own devices and push her and everyone else away just like you always do! Perhaps the Sorting Hat made a mistake, and maybe you really do belong in Gryffindor with the rest of those idiots who think that by sacrificing themselves they can achieve anything more than their own deaths!"

"Shut up!" Draco yelled, never hating Pansy as much he did in that moment. He yanked out his wand and aimed it at Pansy, whom he knew was currently too weak to defend herself, and wandless.

"I won't! Find some backbone, and find it quick, or else it will be no one's fault but your own when Ginevra is found bleeding, broken,"

"STUPEFY!"

"PROTEGO!" a deep male voice roared.

There was a great whirlwind as a sudden explosion of power caused Slytherin's common room to be, quite literally, torn apart. In the middle of the chaos stood Pansy, still wandless and in shock at Draco's actions as he stood in the same position he'd been in, seething with anger and still pointing the wand point-blank at her. However, Pansy was surrounding by a shimmering of green light, a shielding spell from Blaise, who had just entered the room to see Draco about to hex the girl who was so close to them she was practically a sister.

"What," he said slowly in a low voice, "the FUCK is going on in here?"

Draco ignored Blaise and snarled at Pansy, advancing on her threateningly. Blaise was quicker, though, and he caught him around the waist and threw him back into the couch. The frame of the couch groaned at the strength with which Blaise had thrown him, but didn't break. Draco sat there, stunned for several seconds, before he rose his head and eyes so dark they were nearly black landed on Blaise. "Get the hell out of the way, Zabini. This doesn't involve you."

"If Ron comes out here-"

"Fuck Ron!"

Pansy hadn't moved an inch since Blaise had entered the room, but now she crumpled to the ground.

Blaise turned to go to her, but found Draco's wand menacing him between the eyes. "I told you to leave. This is none of your fucking business."

Blaise gestured helplessly at Pansy, who was lying still on the ground. "Don't you see what's going on? She could be hurt!"

"She should be hurt!" Draco exploded, knocking Blaise out of the way. He stalked over to Pansy, and as Blaise rose to follow Draco pointed his wand at her. "One more step, Blaise. Just give me a reason…"

"Draco, mate," Blaise began weakly, rising slowly to his feet. "What's happened to you?"

"Should have known you'd side with her." Draco stood inches from Pansy, looking down on her with a contempt he usually reserved for Potter. Pansy raised her head weakly as he muttered a quick spell, dissolving the now-weak shield Blaise had placed around her.

"And in the end," she whispered, "they will turn against even their own. Do it, Draco. Just do it."

Draco raised his wand, even as Blaise gasped and stepped forward.

"Why did you have to say anything, Pansy?" Draco said savagely. "Couldn't you have just stayed silent? Did you have to make me choose?" As Pansy stared up at him in confusion, he raised his wand arm higher, but couldn't say the words.

Looking down at the quiet acceptance in Pansy's eyes, Draco blinked and the fog of anger lifted from his mind. What the hell was he doing?

"Oh gods, Pansy. I'm so sorry," Draco stuttered, dropping his wand even as Blaise leapt forward. Falling to the ground beside Pansy, Draco knelt and checked her for injury, murmuring apologies.

Blaise shoved him backwards, catching him unawares and causing him to go sprawling on the ground. "Don't you think you've done enough? Pansy," Blaise crooned anxiously. She was just lying there, not speaking or moving but eyes clearly open and focused on Blaise.

Draco sat up and stared at Pansy and Blaise in shock, unable to believe he had attacked two of the few people in the world whom he actually cared about.

Pansy still hadn't moved anything but her eyes, and now Blaise was getting frantic. "Pansy? Pansy, come on, just say something, please. Everything's ok now, promise… Pansy, please!" In a very un-Slytherin move, Blaise gathered Pansy's prone form into his arms, his eyes watering as his head fell forward.

"No, this can't happen. It can't…"

Draco finally lurched to his feet, emptying the contents of his stomach in a destroyed corner of the room. He haltingly made his way over to where Blaise wept, holding Pansy. She whimpered, even the small sound causing Draco and Blaise to freeze, but then her eyes shut and she went limp.

"Jesus Christ!" Blaise yelled as Draco paled and ran forward throwing himself on the ground beside him. "I don't know what you did, Draco, but you better goddamn fix it!"

"Right," Draco said shakily, reaching over to feel a faint pulse beating in Pansy's neck. He breathed an audible sigh of relief. "She's alive."

Blaise, as if suddenly realizing who Draco was, picked up Pansy as if she weighed nothing and backed away from Draco, who still had the same horror-stricken expression on his face.

"Blaise," Draco started as Blaise raised his wand warily with one hand wile holding Pansy to him easily with the other. "I didn't… I never meant…"

"Stay where you are." Blaise lowered Pansy to the remains of a couch, never moving his eyes from Draco. "Ennervate."

Pansy's eyes fluttered open slowly, and Blaise sighed, stroking her brow lightly once before turning to Draco. "I want answers," he said flatly. "Now."

"I don't have answers, Blaise," Draco said slowly, looking down at the stone floor. "I can't give any excuse-"

"You're damn right you can't!" Blaise shouted, raising his wand and sending a black wave of magic at Draco.

"Stop!" Just that quickly, Pansy was on her feet and standing between Blaise and Draco. Blaise twisted his hand and the magic faded.

"Gods, Pansy, I could have hurt you-"

"So you would have hurt Draco instead?" Pansy asked, hands on her hips.

"Do you know what I tried, and almost succeeded in doing to you, Pansy?" Draco asked quietly from behind Pansy.

She whirled around stalking close to Draco, who refused to meet her eyes. "We were both in a moment of weakness, Draco. I shouldn't have said the things I did."

"But Pans-"

"But nothing," Pansy silenced him. "Could you honestly say that you would have been able to hurt me?"

Draco stood still for a long moment, thinking hard. "No," he said in realization. "No, I don't think I could have."

"And that's what really matters," Pansy stated just before she was drawn into a tight, unwelcome hug. "Oh, for god sake, Draco-"

Blaise smirked, though anyone who knew him well could tell he was just as relieved by this turn of events as Draco or Pansy. "This is all very touching… But can we please set this room to rights before someone thinks to investigate?"

… … …

Ron stroked Ginevra's hair back from her forehead, absentmindedly. His mind was a million miles away; he vaguely registered the yelling coming from the Common Room. He briefly considered going to see what was going on, but knew it probably wasn't a good idea. It would be like Draco butting into one of Ron and Ginevra's fights; unwanted, awkward, and, generally, unnecessary.

"Ron?" His mind came slamming back down to earth at hearing Ginevra's voice.

"Ginny," Ron said fondly. "How are you feeling?" Inwardly, he wondered why she had woken so soon from the sleeping drought she'd taken earlier, but dismissed it. She had always had exceptional defense.

"Like I've been run over by a bus," she mumbled. "Damn sleeping potions." Ron reached over and took her hand; she squeezed it, giving him, what he supposed was, an attempt at a smile. Her eyes drifted to the dormitory door. "They're fighting, aren't they?"

Ron frowned, wondering the same thing himself. Though it was killing him not to go and see what was happening, he knew his presence would not be appreciated and he didn't want to leave Ginevra so soon. "Whatever they're doing, if they'd wanted us to know they would have told us."

Ginevra rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at him. "I know, Ron." They sat in silence for a long time and, after the yelling had stopped, Ginevra ventured, "What do they want with me, Ron? Why me? I haven't done anything to anyone. Even during the war, I just helped the injured!"

Ron frowned, shaking his head in the negative. "If they were after someone from the war, it stands to reason that they'd go after Harry or Hermione first. No, it can't be that..."

"What then? Old feuds? If they were going after a Weasley, they could've gone after Bill or Charlie or the twins; they're easier to get to than either of us here in Hogwarts," Ginevra murmured, almost to herself.

"Who was it that attacked you, Ginny?"

Ginevra looked at Ron in amusement. "Well, if I knew that we wouldn't have a problem, now would we?"

Ron laughed, shaking his head. "Right, sorry. Well … do you remember anything? Anything at all? Snape's talking to Dumbledore right now. They're trying to figure out what happened."

Ginevra's brow creased in concentration. "I do remember one thing," she began slowly. "I was surprised. I don't remember why I was, but I do remember that."

Ron leaned back, pondering her words. "So it's someone we wouldn't suspect? That doesn't narrow it down much, Gin."

"I know, Ron." Ginevra said with a sigh. "But that's all I remember."

Jes: _Well, isn't it nice to know we're still here? In all seriousness, we've both had quite a bit going on lately, but do to some extremely fortunate developments, we'll be posting much more regularly now. _Pia:**Yes, we will both have oodles and oodles of time to write to our hearts content. Well, perhaps not oodles, but much more than either of us has had the past few weeks.**_ Heh, heh, months, maybe. You have our humblest apologies for the hiatus, but seeing as neither of us are particularly humble beings, those will have to suffice. We have been writing while we were away, though! The fic Pia will be posting soon is a D/G, but its AU and involving lots of Death Eater goodness XD _**And****Jess is working on a beautifully sarcastic Snape in her new SSHG, Shatter My Illusions, which I LOVE, btw.**

_**So, if you've got a few spare minutes, do take a look!**_


	17. 16: Suspicion

Nearly one thirty. Alanna squinted again at the moon's position, sure that she hadn't been off before. Nope, definitely somewhere after one. She glanced worriedly into the shadows from which Blaise normally appeared. He'd been a bit reluctant to meet tonight; that much was clear. However, Alanna needed to find out what had Blaise so anxious, and she couldn't do that without him there.

The sound of rattling chains arose from within the Shrieking Shack and Alanna coolly glanced at the foreboding building. Her first time in the building had been years ago, though it was hardly something she could forget. It was a short while after she found that her magic was never going to develop, and though her parents had been understanding and comforting, her grief had been inconsolable. She'd run to this field, blinded by both her tears and the rain that had started to fall. The Shreiking Shack was the only shelter available to her, and she'd dashed inside with only a moment's consideration.

Since then, Alanna rarely went in the building. She hadn't seen anything amiss, but the building reminded her of the hopelessness she had first felt. Even as a child, it had been fun to dress up in her mother's gowns and "play witch", admiring herself in the mirror. With her dark hair and eyes, Alanna had thought she looked just like a witch ought to, and awaited her coming magic eagerly. And then, when she realized it never would come…

Her head whipped toward the forest, and she intently stared at the area where she'd thought she'd heard a noise. All that greeted her eyes was pitch-blackness, and not for the first time, she wished her night vision was better. Blaise didn't usually sneak up on her, and if he chose to, Alanna knew that she would have heard nothing. Feeling slightly nervous, she cast her gaze downward, resting it on her hands, clenched in her lap.

For years she'd been coming out to this very field, and never had she had a problem with the panic that was beginning to set in. Alanna berated her stupidity, then glanced upward again, noting that the sky was beginning to lighten. Her parents would fret if she wasn't home before they woke, she reasoned, standing and beginning to walk back to Hogsmeade. Blaise had to have forgotten or something, however much she thought it was unlikely. She broke into a jog after only a few seconds, suddenly gripped with a terror that she couldn't explain. The high grasses clutched at her legs, hidden brambles scratching her cruelly, and she forced herself to slow into a quick walk. Even so, she couldn't muster the courage to turn around, and it was all she could do to curse the inexplicable fear and think bitterly of how defenseless she truly was.

…………

"Draco, she's asking for you."

Draco grunted almost inaudibly, but didn't move. Ron stared at the back of his

head until he started to get up and move towards his dormitory. He stopped when he was even with Ron. "How is she?"

"Shaken and scared, even though she won't admit it. Pansy doesn't want us asking anything about the incident because she thinks it will just upset her more."

"I know … have you talked to Severus yet?"

"On my way there now." Draco nodded to him and Ron started to walk away, only to be stopped by Draco's hand on his arm. "Yes?" Draco avoided his gaze for a moment, before offering his hand. Ron almost smiled as he shook it tightly before walking away.

Draco entered his dormitory silently, to find that Ginevra had drifted into a light sleep. He watched her for several minutes; there was a bruise forming on her cheek and he absently noted that he'd need to get a salve for it from Severus. He sat down on the bed, causing her to stir. She stared sleepily at him, reaching out for his hand. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, his own crinkled by deep furrows.

"How are you feeling?"

"Groggy."

"Severus gave you some potions in the hope that it would help you sleep." He turned away from her and raked his hands through his hair. "Ginevra, I …" He sighed heavily, searching for words. "Pansy yelled at me for thinking this is my fault, but I can't help but …" Draco trailed off, looked back to Ginevra to try and judge her reaction, only to discover that she had fallen asleep.

…………

A petite brunette slipped between the last two shelves in the Library; the ones farthest from the door and Madame Pince. "They're never going to let her out of their sight now."

"They have to slip up eventually, everyone does." Her hand disappeared into her robes and reappeared a moment later holding a small slip of yellowed parchment. "The latest communiqué. Dumbledore's investigating what happened, Snape too, so this will be the last one until things quiet down. He doesn't want anything to be traced back to him, so we're supposed to stay under the radar and just watch."

The second woman took the parchment from her, read it quickly, and then whispered, "Incendio." The parchment dissolved into a puff of smoke and, satisfied that the communiqué was destroyed, the brunette grabbed a random book from the shelf and walked out of the Library, the other woman following a few minutes later.

…………

Severus Snape had just sent his last detentionee sniveling back to their dormitory, and he surveyed his newly sparkling cauldrons with satisfaction. There was really nothing that remained for the day except to head back to his rooms, help himself to a large glass of Firewhisky, perhaps peruse the latest Potions Weekly...  
This is why upon hearing the knocking on his classroom door, Snape had to resist the urge to throw a tantrum. "What do you want?" He called resignedly, looking longingly at the door to his chambers.  
The door opened a crack and Ron stuck his head through. "Sorry, I thought since you were done with classes…" At seeing Severus' wave and resigned look, he stepped into the classroom. "Ginny's been in and out … she's got a pretty nasty bruise. Draco wanted me to ask you for some salve for it."  
"You've bothered me after hours to obtain a salve that could just as easily be obtained through the student stores or, prepare yourself for this, the Hospital Wing? Spare me the formalities and get on with what you came here to ask me."  
"Ron glared at him; as much as he was gaining respect for his teacher, it didn't mean he had to like him. "What are you planning to do about this? Its only going to get worse, you know. Sooner or later, the Gryffindors will find out about Draco and Ginny and when they do, there will be no stopping their wrath. And that's not even considering whoever planned this attack. So I'm wondering, what, exactly, you're planning on doing to protect my sister? After all, you and Dumbledore have done a bang-up job of it so far this year!"

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Keep in mind that despite your rising favor among my House, I am still your professor and I have still observed years of interaction between you and Potter, not to mention the mooning you've done over Granger," Snape sneered on this last comment, stalking over to his desk and taking a seat behind it. "I'll thank you to remember that no matter who you are currently, what you were still exists."

"I was mistaken, there is nothing else I can say about it. I won't apologize for who I was, but I have changed. Everyone has a past, Professor, and, with all due respect, I would expect you, of all people, to understand that." Ron moved forward and closed the door behind him. He was not nearly as intimidated by his Professor as he once had been; Snape was slightly shorter than Ron now and after seeing Snape's kindness towards Ginevra, Ron's respect for the man had grown exponentially.

Snape considered Ron for a long moment, and then motioned wordlessly to the seat before his desk. "It seems you are unaware," Snape began after Ron was seated, "of the fact that your sister has not been particularly high on a list of people to protect since her second year." Ron began to interrupt, but Snape just continued silkily, "That is, of course, since her involvement with certain members of my esteemed House. Now then, let's see how well you can draw parallels as a changed person."

"Sir?"

"Why would someone want to harm your sister?"

"We've discussed this; if someone wanted to hurt Harry, they'd go after Hermione first. And if it was me they wanted to hurt, they'd go after Pansy, because it would be less conspicuous that way. Blaise and Ginny don't have that strong of a connection, which only leaves Draco. And whatever's threatening Draco is probably threatening Blaise, and maybe even Pansy as well." Snape was looking more bored than Ron had ever seen him, and Ron quickly brought his musings to a close. "But what I don't understand is this: how did they get into Hogwarts? The only one who was ever capable of that was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and he's gone."

"What an asinine thing to say, Mr. Weasley. You and I are both in Hogwarts at this very moment."

Ron leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the desk. "So you think it's someone who was already here?"

"I don't see how it could work any other way. Unless, of course, someone has managed to get to Draco or Blaise on one of their many little outings from the grounds—unlikely." Snape scowled at Ron's surprised look. "Mr. Weasley, exactly how senile do you think I am? You think I'm not aware of the goings on in my own House?"

Ron chuckled softly. "Do you think McGonagall knows everything that goes on in Gryffindor?"

"If by some perceptual anomaly you were unable to discern this for yourself, I can assure you that I am not Professor McGonagall."

"Sorry," Ron said with chagrin. "But I just don't see who would want to hurt Ginny. Only a few of us know about her and Draco and she's really never done anything malicious. I know it's not a Slytherin and the other two houses wouldn't get involved. And Gryffindor is too caught up in their hero-worship to pay any attention to the Baby Weasley. No one's paid her much mind since her first year and even then, it wasn't her they were concerned about, it was Riddle."

"Oh, for the love of- " Snape started impatiently, startling Ron. "Eavesdropping is one of the least endearing activities to involve yourself in, Draco."

Ron was about to remind his professor that he, indeed, was neither eavesdropping nor Draco when the classroom door swung open, hitting the wall behind it with a bang.

Snape curled his lip in distaste. "Destruction of property is another."

"Sorry, Uncle Sev."

"You're not sorry, you're a despicable little cretin. And I am quite sure I'd already conveyed my opinion of any nicknames."

"Tut tut tut, Uncle Sev. Such flattery."

"Since you already know what we were discussing, do give your thoughts or get out."

Draco smiled smugly and sauntered over to rest on the edge of Snape's desk. "Well, firstly, no one has even spotted us on our outings. We're far too clever for that—" both Snape and Ron snorted in disbelief, but Draco merely continued as if he hadn't noticed, "—and the likelihood that anyone knows about our relationship is slim."

"A couple Gryffindors do know, though," Ron muttered absently.

"Yes, well, that's the fault of that little shit Potter," Draco replied serenely. "Where was I? Ah, yes. Really, all that remains is the idea that…" Draco trailed off, then frowned. "What remains?"

"Your incomparable idiocy," Snape said, massaging his temples.

"It's not very wise to insult a vampyre, you know," Draco ground out, glaring hard at his Godfather.

"Well, when the vampyre isn't very wise …"

Ron shifted uncomfortably in his chair; it was still difficult for him to tell the difference between Draco's anger and his mere annoyance: the latter of which involved much less need to duck and cover. "So the probability is that someone inside of the school knows about Draco and Ginny and has some sort of motive for hurting Draco. Which, I'm sorry to say mate, could be any of a million people."

"Oi!" Draco said indignantly. "I beg to differ!"

"Your begging doesn't really change anything," Ron said with a smirk.

"Actually," Snape began with a glare at the two men in front of him, "we can't rule out the possibility that this originated outside of Hogwarts."

"But-"

"Draco, if someone really wanted to hurt you, why would they have waited until your seventh year, when you should be at your most powerful magickally?" Snape asked condescendingly. "If they've suddenly discovered a reason to want you out of the way, it didn't begin with them."

Ron steepled his fingers in a way that made Snape wince with familiarity. "So there may be a person inside the school doing the bidding of someone outside of it. Any Death Eaters still at large?"

"Well, obviously," Draco quipped petulantly. "The Ministry's incompetence still astounds all who encounter it. They only managed to actually imprison about a third of the Death Eaters. Another third were killed in some way or another… That leaves quite a few of them at large."

"And how many of those one third at large know that you and Blaise went against your fathers and didn't fight in the Final Battle?" Ron had learned from Pansy that when time came for the Final Battle, Draco and Blaise had refused to associate themselves with either side and had gone missing for two whole weeks in order to avoid the ordeal altogether.

"Probably half of the ones still out there and all of the ones that went to prison, I imagine. But if that's the reason, then that puts all three of us at risk, but only Ginevra was attacked. It doesn't make sense."

"If they had wanted-" Ron began, then gasped when the fireplace in the corner let out a puff of smoke. A thin figure stepped out, and Snape sighed. "Exactly how long will it be before my nightcap if the entirety of the school decides to visit me tonight?"

Albus Dumbledore coughed and then shook the dust from his shoulders before surveying the three men in the room. "Your night may have just gotten longer. I've got some news."

Pia: **We're back! Yes, we have officially returned to the land of the living. No garauntees as we're both drowning in busy-ness, but we'll be working as much as our brains can tolerate. I'm sure you all just LOVED the cliffie, and why don't you review, to tell us just how much? **Jess_Real life demanded attention with a vengeance... No promises this time, but we'd love to know we still have some faithful old readers._**  
**


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